Wire and Sopranos were creme de la creme, closely followed by breaking bad. i'm just starting with the shields. btw, sons of anarchy turned into beep after second season.

Prison Break, Sons of Anarchy, Dexter and Justified are just as great too.
Don't listen to some of these elitist idiots.

It gets more focused in later seasons, but there's still a lot of the same routine with strike team beating and threatening their way through investigations that have little to no relevance to the plot, and other detectives talking yet another murderer into confession.
The overarching plot is there, but it's way too stale for a seven seasons show.

police procedural?
Maybe at the beginning, but even then it has overarching plot.
from like season 3 on i think is when its turns completely serial.

Well, no, not really. It has some good episodes (season endings most of them), but for the most part it's just a police procedural show, and not a particularly good one.
i'd say it's about as good as late Sons of Anarchy. Make of it what you will.

Watch the first episode and you'll definitely know

Already watching season 6

As others have said, definitely - and it looks like you have.
I'll give the
Sopranos
some extra credit, since it was ground-breaking, one of the first.
I've tried to watch both,
Breaking Bad
, and
The Wire
, but stopped, because I couldn't get into them.

The Shield is a top caliber show. For some reason it seems to get overlooked a lot. But it's as good any of the most talked about shows out there.
"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"

No question, you'll love the show. I'm 3 episodes away from finishing it for the 2nd time, and I've been binging it like it was the first time. For me, what puts the Shield in that rarified land of TV gold is the pacing of the story. The last 2 and half seasons all feel like one amazing last season. And to top it off, the ending is a work of art.
Oh and one last thing I like to call Shield Moments. The title sequence of a 3 second burst of music timed with the badge graphic sets the tone for the episode. It's incredibly simple but brilliant, and it's my favorite of any show. No one needs to see a 2 minute sequence every episode no matter how beautiful it may be (Game of Thrones).
Have fun, but be careful if you start it at night with work the next morning

I'm on season 3Let me know some of your impressions as you move along..

I wish I could erase the show from my memory and have the pleasure of enjoying it for the first time again. Enjoy the ride!

I just started watching this evening.Just finished the pilot episode.
Now I'm going to binge watch the next 7 seasons,wish me fun!

Absolutely. It's one of the most compelling shows in history (big statement to make, but one that is objectively true.)

Please,its better than almost all of them.
Do yourself a favour and watch it.

Your life will not be complete until you watch the shield the best show ever

For me The Wire was is the weakest of those shows
Didnt like at all The Wire, but i finished it

Only The Wire tops it so yeah start watching.

The Wire is the best of the best ones but somehow when those kids in school came in I started getting bored.

I always wanted to get the whole series but wanted to wait until today where I found it for $34.96 at Walmart which I think is a pretty good price for The Complete Series what does everyone else think?

Absolutely!! It is a great series

Yes, it is.

It's a matter of taste.
In my opinion nothing in that list competes with Boardwalk Empire.

Add Oz to the list as well.