When Spongebob Squarepants premiered on Nickelodeon in 1999, the world knew little about the always-optimistic, yet naive, sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea with his pet snail Gary, neighbors Squidward Tentacles and Patrick Star and money-hungry boss Mr. Krabs. With nostalgia at an all time high thanks to TeenNick’s The 90s Are All That, it’s time to take a closer look at the last remaining Nickelodeon cartoon to begin in the 90s and still be making new episodes in 2011, Spongebob Squarepants.

Creator Stephen Hillenburg truly started a phenomenon with Spongebob, voiced by comedian Tom Kenny. The idea that any man, woman or child in America today may never have seen an episode of Spongebob Squarepants seems impossible, in a world where Spongebob and his sea creature friends are everywhere.

Simply put – Spongebob is like the Mickey Mouse of our generation, and I consider myself to be a studier of Spongebob. A Spongebob Squarepants Scholar, if you will. I have considered my options, weighed them deeply and determined the ten episodes of Spongebob Squarepants that I consider to be the best of the series.