Probably the best anime series I've watched in the last year is Gantz, a very very well done drama series... but it is 18+ (Lots of nudity, lots of swearing, lots of the red stuff, and I mean lots
).
Saw Last Exile about 3 or 4 years ago, can't remember exactly when, but it was about that far, and was highly impressed by it. Typically I get bored with aviation series, but this was a lot better then your typical aviation series.
Fullmetal Alchemist was truly ruined in translation it seems, then again, its US Distributor was Funimation (same guys who ruined the translation of the original Dragonball and DBZ Manga, Blue Seed, DBZ(sorta, the series blew in the first place really...) and countless other series). There was a whole lot more story i noticed in the japanese version compared to the american version. The movie, I think, is better then the actual series. It was straight to the point, no filler.
Trigun was cool, but then again, ruined in translation. The translation turned Wolfwood into a wuss. Thats all there is to it.
Oh and watch the Full Metal Panic's (The original series, Fumoffu (best comedy anime ever), and The Second Raid)
Right now I've been addicted to Bleach (episode 72 kicked teh ass), Eureka 7 (If your looking for a good story with a few good mecha battles every once in a while, this is where it is at), and GunXsword (Hillarious Series. ), both very very awesome for their own genres.