First, although it's a ranked list, it's a little deceptive, because there's almost no difference between 3rd place and 10th place. If I listened to Keeper I just once more, it would jump from 7th to 3rd. So the real dividing line is between "Chameleon/PBGA" and "everything else". I basically listen to those two albums twice as much as I listen to the rest.
And, I sort of got into "Walls of Jericho" through "Chameleon" all at the same time, around 1993/1994 or so, with my fandom of the "Keepers" albums coming first, then leading to my interest in their Euro-only albums. So, on the one hand, you're right, PBGA/Chameleon were part of my early, passionate exposure to music, so they surely hold a special place in my heart due to that. But on the other hand, the Keepers albums were in the same boat, and they've since fallen off. Maybe it's because the Keepers-era has been cloned much more, so when I'm looking for that style, I have a lot more options, while PBGA and 'Chameleon' still stand out as unique records (this "uniqueness" theory is further supported by the fact that 'Walls of Jericho' has only grown in my mind over time, because I know of no other record with such churning intensity of guitar-playing as that one). Or, maybe as I've gotten older, my "heavy metal is for Neanderthals" mindset has taken over, and I appreciate the pretentious-pop-art stuff more. Or, maybe they're just the best Helloween albums!
Neil
