Just two nights ago, the missus and I (re)watched Laputa. So many of the classical Ghibli/Miyazaki themes were already there.

I'm unable to rank them though, not even a number one favorite, which changes depending on the day and mood.

One of my super favorite Miyazaki (pre-Ghibli) works though was the post-apocalyptic-Water World-like 26-episode tv show Mirai Shōnen Konan.