FFX is far and away my favorite FF game, and I will be first in line to get the HD remake, if it ever comes out.
I thought the Sphere Grid system was very good - much less confusing & needlessly complex than FF8's system. Also, due to the characters' placement & progression through it, it allowed you to go through the vast majority of the game having characters with different strengths. The world was well built, each area had it's distinct look, yet the whole world had common themes. The game was nice & colorful, and was an absolute joy to experience for the first time.
But what really set X apart from previous (and later) games in the FF series was the story. 4(US 2) & 6(US 3) had very large, branching storylines, with quite a lot going on for each different character. This isn't to say they had bad stories, but X was much more focused. 7 & 8's stories were muddled & confusing, featuring both enemies & heroes with unclear motivations that were hard to relate to. Cloud & Squall both didn't give a crap about the world, so why should the player? 9 & 12 were good, but didn't immerse me that much in their worlds. And don't even get me started on 13. That game was an unmitigated disaster story-wise.
X's story was fantastic for a few reasons.
1) Having a smaller group (7 playable characters) and a clear main character allowed the game to focus on Tidus's story. Right off the bat, he tells you "this is my story," and you never leave Tidus's point of view.
2) Tidus is an upbeat, fun character. He's a stranger in a strange world, and because of that, it doesn't seem odd that people explain to him (and therefore to the player) the funny things about this new world. It makes sense that he would need stuff explained to him, and those explanations subtly tell the player that they are a part of this too, and help draw them in more.
3) The bad guys had clear motivations, and they were understandable in the context of the game's world. Seymour may have been the classic psychopath that just wants to watch the world burn, but at least he has good reason. You see how he was an outcast as a boy, and what made him who he was. Sin was a giant monster, neither good nor bad, but the thing controlling him was Tidus's father, and gave you a reason to fight him in the end.
4) The characters developed relationships throughout the game in believable ways. At first, Lulu doesn't trust Tidus, but grows to accept him as a "brother." Wakka's relationship with Rikku before learning she is an Al Bhed allows him to get rid of his prejudice towards them. Tidus learns things about Jecht that completely changes how he sees him, etc. The romance between Tidus & Yuna is natural, and not forced. They flirt so much throughout the first half of the game, that it doesn't come as a surprise when they finally hook up. It really bothered me in FF12 & 13 that relationships like this never developed - the games focused so much on system or graphics or gameplay that the things that made past FF games great - story & characters, got pushed to the back burner in favor of making the game more "fun." Which had the nasty side effect of making the games less enjoyable.
Well anyway, I'll end my thesis on FFX there, before it gets too long, but I would like to say that not only is it my favorite FF game, it is one of my favorite games of all time, and I can still go back to it & enjoy it today, 11 years later.
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