The actually best year is always a personal point of view not because the titles but because the age. It is usual relate the best year of gaming to when younger you pick up the controller for the first times, and even some malicious titles are remember as good ones. Like Jurassick Park for PS1 I will remember it as epic even if isn’t a big deal compared. As adult I feel time for gaming have stopped, gaming now is mostly behind microtransation and high prices.

98 was incredible, besides all the ones OP mentioned they missed:

• Metal Gear Solid
• Sonic Adventure
• Resident Evil 2
• Sonic Adventure
• Grim Fandango
• Caesar III
• Unreal

Surely one of the best years, only possibly beaten by 2004:

• Half Life 2
• MGS3
• GTA: San Andreas
• Ninja Gaiden
• Halo 2
• World of Warcraft
• Doom 3
• Killzone
• Fable
• Burnout 3: Takedown
• Lumines
• Far Cry

So many amazing games!

2001 - SSX Tricky was released. I played the hell out of that game. Still would today honestly, it had such satisfying trick mechanics.

Parasite Eve, Unreal, Shogo, RE2, SiN, Thief: The Dark Project, etc. Certainly an amazing year in gaming.