The water tentacle in
The Abyss
was an outstanding effect for 1989. Even now it doesn't look half bad.

Metropolis.

1. King Kong
2. Star Wars
3. Jurassic Park
4. 2001: A Space Odyssey
5. Aliens
   Goonies 25th Anniversary Event, live in Astoria, Oregon. Coming in 23 days.

"2001:A Space Odyssey" April,1968
"Star Wars" May 25,1977
"The Exorcist" December 26,1973
"Terminator 2:Judgment Day" July 3,1991
"Metropolis" 1927
"The Matrix" March 31,1999
"Who Framed Roger Rabbit" June,1988
"King Kong" 1933
"King Kong" December,2005
"Blade Runner" 1982
"Tron" 1982

CGI:
Jurassic Park
T2
The Matrix
Tron
Non-CGI:
King Kong
2001
The Lost World ('25)
Star Wars

Mahershalalhashbaz Ali is the best name ever.

T2
Jurassic Park
The Matrix
Avatar
How about a magic trick? - The Joker
All hail Shyamalan, Nolan, W. Smith, Z. Deschanel

"2001:A Space Odyssey".42 years later and still the most realistic special effects film I have ever seen.

POLTERGEIST is one of my favorite FX films of all time.
"This is the 80's, nobody likes reality anymore!"

This 'Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration' video is quite interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP_hAszQPgk

I think well worth a mention here is 'American Werewolf in London' - at the time of its release, it was long before CGI and the effects were puppet like and make up. This took real skill and craftsmanship to pull off and look almost realistic. Testament to the fine work of Rick Baker.
http://frontrowreviews.co.uk/all_genres/horror/american-werewolf-in-lo ndon-1981/
Director John Landis then went on to make the epic video Thriller for the late great MJ on the success of this film.
Worth mentioning also is Terminator 2 - until that film people had generally steered clear of CGI because it was looking pretty lame. It was only after the amazing results achieved in T2 that people began to invest time into it again so i disagree with Jurassic Park taking a title. Its T2 all the way that is responsible for that particular leap.

King Kong
2001
Star Wars
T2
Jurassic Park
Avatar

Hmm tough one but I would say the following.
KING KONG
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
2001
STAR WARS
SUPERMAN
TRON
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (GOOD GHOAST EFFECTS)
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
JURASIC PARK
TITANIC

The Perfect Storm.
This is really the first film in my mind that I think got it right with how to properly use CGI in a realistic looking way.

King Kong (1933). It may look like simple claymation today, but back in the early days of "talkies" (the first film with dialogue was just 6 years before), it was absolutely groundbreaking.
King Kong
most certainly did not use "claymation"! Claymation means stop-motion animation with figures made of non-hardening modeling clay, like Gumby or the characters in
Chicken Run
. The stop-motion work of animators like Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Jim Danforth used highly detailed, articulated models. It may seem like nitpicking, but would you call the miniature warships in
Tora! Tora! Tora!
"bathtub toys"?
All the universe . . . or nothingness. Which shall it be, Passworthy? Which shall it be?

'Forbidden Planet' is way too low on that list, talk about being disrespected.

me three after i saw the initial list I thought "where is 2001?"
Oh GOOD!,my dog found the chainsaw

I have to agree with you on "2001:A Space Odyssey".It was a film that was made ahead of its' time and I think the film kept up with the times.The visual effects weren't only good.They were legendary for the reality it displayed on the screen.Even though "Star Wars" was my favorite,"2001" was a better sci-fi film.Even George Lucas said so.

2001:A Space Odyssey was the film that really changed the face of outer space science fiction. The visuals were unlike anything that had I seen before when I saw the film in 1969. I was completely mesmerized at how everything looked and moved, from the opening (the alignment of the moon, earth and sun) to the ending (the star child gazing into space). Even to this day, forty years later, I believe most of the special effects still hold up fairly well. During the gap between 2001 and Star Wars, I often wondered why the film industry ignored genres that would utilize those types of ground breaking effects.

No offence, but the word "claymation" is used to described stop motion done with clay characters, such as Wallace and Gromit, not all kinds of stop motion. And while the topic first is up, I think that Coraline will be remembered for a long time for its technical innovations in the genre.
About special effects and impact on Hollywood, there is a list on the net that has some ideas about it:

1. Star Wars (1977)
2. Blade Runner (1982)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
4. The Matrix (1999)
5. Jurassic Park (1993)
6. Tron (1982)
7. King Kong (1933)
8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
9. Alien (1979)
10. The Abyss (1989)
11. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
12. Metropolis (1927)
13. A Trip to the Moon (1902)
14. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
15. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
16. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. Titanic (1997)
19. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)
21. E.T. the Extraterrestrial (1982)
22. Toy Story (1995)
23. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
24. The Ten Commandments (1956)
25. The War of the Worlds (1953)
26. Forrest Gump (1994)
27. Citizen Kane (1941)
    25 The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad (1958)
28. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
29. The Terminator (1984)
30. Aliens (1986)
31. Mary Poppins (1964)
32. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
33. Forbidden Planet (1956)
34. Babe (1995)
35. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
36. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
37. King Kong (2005)
38. Planet of the Apes (1968)
39. Fantastic Voyage (1966)
40. Jaws (1975)
41. Ghostbusters (1984)
42. Sin City (2005)
43. Superman: The Movie (1978)
44. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
45. The Lost World (1925)
46. Return of the Jedi (1983)
47. What Dreams May Come (1998)
48. An American Werewolf in London (1981)
49. Darby OGill and the Little People (1958)
50. The Fifth Element (1997)

Terminator 2?