I get borderline teary-eyed looking at some of these pictures. Several of the Lego sets I had as a kid are featured in an article on Gizmodo.
Police headquarters
Robot
Galaxy Explorer
Rocket Launcher
There were several others as well, including a space station with a little car on a track that moved across the length of it.
Wow! I found a few that I had.
Technic Car
Coast Guard Boat
Lame Castle Wagon I got this one as a small gift.
Two of my favorite sets not included in Gizmodo's list were a large, red cargo plane with a forklift and a "space cruiser". The cruiser had six large wheels on springs and the pod on the front would detach as a space ship. I got it for my First Communion. Like Jeffy, I had a shit load of passed down bricks that were from garage sales and other sources. Good times...
I've loved LEGO's for as long as I can remember and would still get a kick out of assembling some of the bigger sets they have out right now. Like Travis said, I had some really cool sets growing up. Here are a few of my favorites:
Lagoon Lock-up
Space Shuttle
Deep Freeze Defender
and my all time favorite The Hot Rod