Biggest bust/improvement: Donruss

Hey! It's Harold Reynolds again!

This is not a repeat. This is post number 2,001. I republished this card both as a reminder to enter the contest and as a lead-in to my next judging fiesta, namely, figuring out the biggest improvement and bust in the history of Donruss.

I don't think Donruss has as avid a following as the previous two brands we've compared, Topps and Upper Deck. I know I'm not crazy about many of the sets that Donruss produced over the years.

My personal Donruss favorites are 1984 and 1985. Plus, 1981 has sentimental value. I kind of like 1995, too. And 1988 and 1989 are actually growing on me. The rest you can put in a big boiling pot of ick.

The ones I don't like in the least are 1986, 1991, 1992 and 1996. I think I've mentioned before that 1986 horrified me from the moment I saw it and prevented me from buying any of it. I know I've mentioned before that if Fisher Price were to make card sets, they would look like 1991 Donruss. And, of course, 1992 Donruss is vile and nauseating, and 1996 has the most ridiculous logo placement ever.

So, if I was participating in this judge-off, the biggest improvement would be 1983 to 1984, with 1986 to 1987 as runner-up. The biggest bust would be 1985 to 1986, with 1995 to 1996 or 1982 to 1983 as runners-up.

But I'm not deciding this. You're deciding this.

A couple of other notes first:

1983 Donruss is the only set I can remember opening the first pack of and saying out loud, "Oh, come on! Really?" That's what I thought of '83 Donruss ripping off its own set from the previous year.

There is no 2000 Donruss set (I think). EDIT: There is no 1999 or 2000 Donruss set. For comparing sets, we'll have to compare 1998 to 2001.

So, now I'm looking for comments. What do you think are the biggest year-to-year improvements for Donruss and the biggest year-to-year busts? I'm looking for something like: "biggest improvement: 1989 to 1990," "biggest bust: 1997 to 1998."

Once I accumulate enough comments, I'll post a poll that includes the most nominated comparisons and people will get to vote on the all-time biggest bust and improvement in the history of the Donruss base set.

(For sanity's sake, I am not including any sets that Donruss makes these days or has made in the last few years. The cut-off is 2005).

To make your comparing easier, here's a handy look at every year of Donruss: