These are just the games that I loved as a kid (or as a much younger kid than I am now). I used to play Task Force when I was only 5 years old! Newer games usually just seem to be recycled crap. I guess that's why I like Freelancer so much-- there's hardly any other games out there that compare.
EDIT: I forgot about Sid Meier's Pirates which is pretty rad too. YARRR!