My first mtb was a 1992 Trek 7000. I will never forget what a kick it was to start riding on that thing and then to upgrade it with the latest in early-90's bike tech: Manitou 1, 737 SPDs, Flite saddle, Hyperlite bar, etc. First races were on that bike and the foundations of pretty much everything else were put down on that bike as well.
The point? No matter what sort of silly wonder-bikes I've had sense, none of it happens without the Trek to get me started. It's very, very hard for me to conceive of life otherwise at this point.