I find it difficult to rank the seasons because there are different ways to enjoy both. Seasons 1-7 are vastly different from 8-18, which again are vastly different from 19-26, and I would say that starting with 27 we are in a new era again.

These are the eras of Survivor for me.

1-7 is very character driven, with all of the gameplay also being driven by interpersonal conflict and social awareness. The games aren't very dynamic, but the characters are memorable.

8-18 is where the game really started to be played, and it only got more and more cutthroat. People started to play hard and the 'meta' of Survivor grew and evolved. I would call this the best era of Survivor and any season from this group would probably be in my top half overall. These seasons are fluid and exciting and there are so many "firsts" still happening. It's the perfect blend of character and gameplay.

19-26 we're at the point where everyone knows the game and everyone is taking counter measures on counter measures. Without spoiling anything, Season 19 changes the game and the way people see it and going forward. Some of these seasons are among the best, while some are the absolute worst. A large part of this is due to the editing, where the show starts to focus on only a select few characters and the emotional drive has all but left the show (barring Season 25 as an exception) Seasons 22, 23, 24 and 26 especially.

27 to present, I think we've started to reach a more middling approach between the original and the modern. With the inclusion of the Blood vs Water twist to two of the seasons, and with themed tribes for the other two, we've started to weave the emotion and interpersonal dilemmas back into the show with varied results. 28 is incredibly well regarded although there may be some recency minor bias still in effect while the other seasons have all been at least somewhat well received to varying degrees.