My take...
1. Blue Devils
I didn't like the show. Not one bit. That doesn't mean it wasn't the cleanest, best performed show I've seen in a long time.
2. Bluecoats
A pounding, loud, amazing show that has stuck with me since the first time I saw it. Currently my favorite show I've ever seen.
3. Cavaliers
Why Bloo over Cavies? Simple. I only remember certain moments and pieces of "Mad World." I can't get a single second of "Metropolis" out of my head. Bloo made a more lasting impact on me, and that gives them an edge.
4. Cadets
Why Cadets over Crown? See Bloo over Cavies. Also, a fun fact: the guard member who gave Geoffrey his shako at the end is a DR at a dorm at my college, and I march with a Cadets mello in said college's marching band.
5. Crown
Pass
6. Phantom
I've listened to "The New Moon in the Old Moon's Arms" and must say that Phantom did great justice to the source material. The most emotionally powerful show I've ever seen.
7. Blue Stars
Not much to say. Liked the show, and our bass line was always jealous of their line's drums; a beautiful red shell with great heads (foam-dampened, not PowerMax like we used at Surf).
8. Santa Clara
Just a shocking turn-off of a show for me... A stark contrast from "Ballet for Martha," a favorite of mine. Not that I don't like Bartok, but it just didn't work.
T9. Madison Scouts
T9. Boston Crusaders
I can't decide between these two. Power vs. Finesse, Theatrics vs. Storytelling, Green vs. Red. These two corps are almost polar opposites. I loved both shows, and thought they were both executed brilliantly.
11. Blue Knights
Would have been a third tie for 9th, but not as much reaction out of this show as the other two. Still, I never thought I'd say that BK had a streak of shows that I enjoyed.
DISCLAIMER: The rest of these placements are placed mostly on hearsay, since as a marching member of a corps I did not have a chance to see most of these shows.
12. The Academy
Who should go here? Certainly not the Glassmen, who I will discuss later, but from what I hear this was the most enjoyable show of this tier of corps.
13. Colts
The Colts may just buy a lease on this spot, since it seems like they never leave it.
14. Glassmen
Wanna know how boring this show was? At Atlanta, the thing my group and I noticed the most was how often the bass drums dropped their puffies during the show. Naturally, they were at most of our shows in the second half of tour, so it became a running joke among us. I'm trying to remember ANY Glassmen show I've ever seen.
15. Troopers
The gap spacer between the top 14 and bottom 8. Much closer to the 14 than the 8.
16. Spirit
Our touring buddy in the 1st half of our tour. A solid show that was solid, but unspectacular.
17. X-Men
Watched them on a TV screen in Atlanta. The circle drill wasn't too circle-y, but the music was good.
18. Pacific Crest
Don't know anything about this show.
19. Mandarins
Surf coulda beaten them in drums (they did in Allentown, IIRC)
20. Jersey Surf
Ah yes, my show. I will argue to this day that we should have beaten Teal Sound. Our biggest downfall this year (and -spoiler- next year at this rate) is that we had a VERY small horn line. It's our catch-22... we need more horns to be competitive, but we need to be more competitive to get more people to join our horn line.
21. Teal Sound
Guard outfits for the pit... electric guitars as a primary instrument... god, I do not like this corps.
22. Cascades
Ironically played "The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow" just before a large rain storm in Fairfax, VA once... that's all I know about the show.
23. Pioneer
Below Cascades only because I have an idea of what the Cascades' show was like.