What is the greatest roller coaster?
I'd say Xcellerator at Knott's Berry Farm. But some close runners up would be Space Mountain, Stealth (at Great America) and Ghostrider.

Did the early morning dash to "X" this morning, got on the third train out, and with a short wait, this ride is actually better than Xcelerator!.... But with the average wait, and mechanical problems, it drops down...

Top Thrill Dragster is Xcelerator's kick-butt brother, and if they can get it to work, should be number one...

I LOVED Millennium Force at CP, when I rode it (about 15 times:p ) last month!

GhostRider just won the Screamscape award for best woodie....:fez:

http://www.screamscape.com/html/2002_ultimate_awards.html

Once X and Top Thrill Dragster become reliable coasters, they will be neck in neck for best coasters on the planet. X is just so different than any other coaster out there, and TTD is so fast & tall but suffers from being a one trick pony (similar to Xcellerator).
IMO, in the future, a coaster than combines the height and speed of TTD with a better post first drop layout like Superman Ride of Steel for example, would be the best coaster on the planet.

Yes, most people like the really hyped rides that always show up on Discovery channel specials and have some impressive measurements or whatnot, but the really great rollercoasters are often rarely spoken of, mainly since they're in the middle of nowhere a lot of the time. ;) (Not in so.Cal or the greater Orlando area)

Nemesis at Alton Towers in England is by far and undoubtedly my favorite coaster of all time. It's a B&M inverted coaster like Batman: The Ride, Raptor, Montu and the like but unlike all of those other rides, it is heavily landscaped and themed, and the layout starts off slowly and builds up to a climax, rather than the first drop rush leading into smaller and smaller elements. Imagine Batman, with a layout that just keeps building speed as the ride goes on, compacted into half the space, put in a series of small valleys and trenches surrounding a giant alien monster with blood-red waterfalls, sheer rock walls and very, very close vegetation and tunnels and then give it the best ride crew, music, atmosphere and maintainance of any intense coaster. If anyone wants some pictures, here is a nice fansite. (http://www.nket.freeserve.co.uk/Nemesis/)

Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England is my choice for the best coaster in the US, with a layout encompassing every thrilling move of the various other Intamin Hypercoasters like Millenium Force. While its drop is 76 ft shorter than MF's, it leads straight into a small tunnel and a fast airtime hill before the large overbanked turn right. It has many, many more fast airtime hills than MF and the other Intamins, and two excellent powerful helices that aren't like the repetitive gentle turns on the other S:RoS's. A spectacular ride that really floats you and really keeps up speed. Another similar and possibly better ride is Expedition G-Force at Holiday Park in Germany.

The Raven at Holiday World in Indiana is one of the more famous Custom Coasters wooden coasters, and would be best described as a few good sized hills and turns followed by a very low, fast, wild blast through the dense forest. It's a very modern wooden coaster, but Custom Coasters International managed to perfectly merge the old wooden coaster envelope with the unusual custom layout and it's definitely one of the best wooden coasters around. Ghostrider is another ride by this company and it is my favorite coaster in California, followed by California Screamin'.

There you have my three choices for some of the best coasters in the world, with a good bit of experience and zero hype-influence behind them. :)

My Favorite Non-Inverted Coaster would have to be the Desparado, in Primm, NV. ;)

If I had to pick a totally favorite coaster, it would have to be the Viper at SFMM. ;)

My favorites are Hulk at Islands of Adventure and Riddler's Revenge at Magic Mountain. I have not had the pleasure of X yet, and I have not been to Cedar Point yet.

My fav old woddie is Pheonix at Knobles Groove PA. Lot's of air time.

Great question!

I get asked that fairly often (I've been on a lot of coasters, and talk about them more than I probably should), but the answer that I give is always this...

Whatever coaster makes you want to run back to the entrance to ride again, before the train has even made it from the final brakes back into the station, is a great coaster.

By that very simple definition, MY great coaster is still Matterhorn Bobsleds. Another coaster that always brings me smiles and makes me want to ride again and again is the Giant Dipper at my favorite west coast amusement park, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk (http://www.beachboardwalk.com) .

If it's monster coasters you're looking for, Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England is absolutely insane. The airtime (that feeling where you're flying up, and the train's going down) on SROS is not only abundant, but powerful to the point where it feels like the ride is trying to toss you out.

while I love Hulk and dueling dragons at IOA, I might add a few others.
the raven at holliday world in Indiana
Zues in Wiscosin dells
Alpengiest (sp) Bush gardens Williamsburg