re: Those who saw the original Star Wars trilogy in the theaters..

1. Blew my young mind. It was the best thing I'd ever seen and remains the best SW movie.
2. The post SW world was in place and it didn't have the same impact, but made everyone giddy for the 3rd one. I remember there being an air of doubt that Luke really was Vader's son. It seems pretty cut and dry when you watch the movie, but there were a lot of people who spent the next three years thinking it might not be true.
3. The thing I remember the most about Jedi was walking out with my friends when it was over, talking about the Clone Wars prequel rumors. Even then, we knew the 3 year breaks were deliberate, and we already knew that Lucas was rumored to have conceptualized something, but that we'd likely not see it for many years.

But no one, at the time, was going around saying Empire was the best one, like some do now. That sentiment baffles me.