With you on sonic & knuckles, God I love that game, wish it got more respect,

You forgot to mention how amazing the music in Sonic R is!

I actually liked Sonic Shuffle most of the time as a kid. I really liked having a VMU to see my cards privately. I thought that was the bee's knees. 
 
And I agree with Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing. I found that to be a great game.

Great list, which reminds me that I need to check out Sonic Chronicles at some point, if only to satiate my own morbid curiosity.

@John_Bender said:

With you on sonic & knuckles, God I love that game, wish it got more respect,

Exactly! Listening to the Bombcast down the years has given me the impression that I was living in my own little bubble when I considered S&K (3?) the best in the franchise. I played so much of that as a kid, the day I discovered the Super Emeralds was a revelation!