We don't mean to be rude, but…come on, was there ever any doubt as to which judge would top this list? When American Idol first debuted in 2002, Cowell changed television forever, thanks to his no-holds-barred critiques, biting one-liners and unapologetic Cowell-ness. We loved him. We hated him. We hated to love him. We loved to hate him. We couldn't stop watching him.