In order for me -
1970 - I LOVE the gray borders and the pictures. Plus it's the year I was born. My first 1970 card was Jake Gibbs, a Yankee...I bought it for 50 cents when I was 11...was my favorite card for years. When I re-bought that card for my current set, it was a great moment (got it at a local shop, very cool)
1973 - My first Willie Mays as a kid was a 73...fun set to put together, last year of the high cards.
1974 - As a kid I got a big stack of hammered 74s...I thought I hit a baseball card treasure chest. More for sentamtal reasons but for some reason in 1982 when I was 12, these seemed ancient.
1971 - Love the black borders, really love the Thurman Munson card. There are a lot of 71s out there with black felt pen from me and my 13 year old buddies...sorry about that! haha. I have a few in my set that are touched up, I left them...
1972 - I think they are totally ugly...but the fact they are so different makes them special.
1976 - The Lou Brock card posted earlier was my favorite card in that set. I hated the Traded cards from 76 and 74, and threw them away as a kid. Still don't want them for my sets! haha.
1975 - We had Mini's out here in Washington...it was only as an adult in a shop did I see my first regular size card. I hated the mini's because they fit poorly in my boxes, and the regular size looks ODD to me. Ironically, my set now is regular...I should probably do the mini's.
1977 - Rather plain cards, but they reminded me of the 67s so I liked them. A big card as a kid was the Murphy rookie, and I never owned one, always wanted one. Now that it is relatively worthless, I chuckled when I see it when I look through my set.
1978 - The oldest cards I ever opened as packs. I started as a 9 year old buying 79 topps, but my mom came home with 3 boxes of wax packs the local convienent store found in the back room from the year prior and sold them all to her for half price. I was STOKED. When I pulled the Reggie Jackson in his iconic pose, I jumped up and down. I ended up putting this set together when I was 11, and it seemed ancient to me and I was the hero on the block. About a year later a neighbor kid stole my Eddie Murray and Paul Molitor...I didn't get them back until I recently a couple of years ago bought a new set, lol.
1979 - The year I started collecting as a kid. I completed the set that year thanks to my mom buying packs and packs for me and my brother. First card I ever opened, Reggie Jackson (my brother was local player and Mariner Rick Honeycutt). Last card I got for completion was Gary Templeton...I had to trade it from a neighbor kid...cost me a couple of my coveted 78s!! I list them last because I stared and memorized each card so much they are somewhat boring to me now. But thinking of opening those packs brings me back. I actually have my childhood set...it's hammered (we used to play games with them with aluminum foil and mini bats and set up stadiums). I still am upgrading here and there...but I could care less.