The Top 25 PCs of All Time

As we continue to celebrate the 25th birthday of the PC (and thanks to everyone for all the nostalgiac comments and emails), PC World took a look at some of the intervening years to remind us of all the innovations that have arrived since that original IBM 5150.

Some of my favorite machines on the full list of 25:

• (22) Hewlett-Packard 100LX (1993) - For at least a decade, HP was the place to go for an ultraportable PC. Remember, this was before the era of the Palm Pilot and the smartphone. If you wanted a portable computer, you had to lug a laptop or settle for a fancy calculator. Devices like the 100LX (only $750) filled the gap quite well with a rugged clamshell design, full keyboard, and basic computing ability, including Lotus 1-2-3 preloaded.
• (19) Apple iMac, 2G (2002) - When Apple put the computer into a half-dome base and put the flat panel on a swiveling arm that erupted from the top of that base, whoa, even I was impressed. This was miles ahead of that chunky TV that the first iMac emulated, and frankly I'm not too keen on the current iMac design, which is sturdier, but less flat-out cool looking.
• (12) MITS Altair 8800 (1975) - I don't know anyone who actually had an Altair, but back in the day we all wanted one. Not sure what we were going to do with it, but hey, it was proto-PC cool.
• (11) Sony VAIO 505GX (1998) - The first notebook less than an inch thick. I could barely type on this thing due to its ultra-tiny size and miniature keys, but there was nothing quite look pulling the 505 out of your bag, then flipping it open to reveal that, no, it wasn't a notebook for papers but rather a notebook computer. PC World rightly notes that this machine singlehandedly launched the ultraportable revolution.
• (10) Apple PowerBook 100 (1991) - One of the most crucial laptops ever made. Introduced the integrated trackball to the world.
• (7) Commodore Amiga 1000 (1985) - Amiga... hmmm, where to begin. Here's a story about the Amiga: In an era when I was still using an Apple II, a friend of mine was a die-hard Amiga fanatic. And sure enough, I remember whiling away the hours playing Spy Hunter (just like it was in the arcade!) on the gorgeous color screen. But Amiga always drew a curious crowd. To wit: My friend alphabetized all his software by publisher instead of by title, which pretty much made everything impossible to find.
• (5) IBM ThinkPad 700X (1992) - Immediately became the de facto standard for notebooks and propelled IBM to the lead in portables (at least in quality) for a decade.
• (4) Apple Macintosh Plus (1986) - I learned how to program in Pascal and Assembly on this machine. So glad I don't have to do that kind of work any more.
• (1) Apple II (1977) - An excellent choice for number one, but I might argue that the Apple IIe, which came out in 1980, was more influential. The original Apple II was just too weak, and many of these machines were quickly upgraded to the Apple II+, IIe, or IIc. But give credit where it's due: The Apple II changed everything, and ushered in the home computer era as we know it.

Be sure to check out the complete top 25 over at PC World for more fond memories of the best computers ever made.