I grew up in the 90s and played all of those top 10. After spending hours on Circus Charlie, I hated the game! There's this stage (I think the tight rope) that I could never pass. Duck Hunt was so much fun, and my friend had it at his house. I recall my fascination at actually aiming at a TV screen, shooting at things. I used to wonder how the game knew we were pointing at the TV, and at the exact locations of ducks.
I discovered cheat codes with Rockman/Megaman. I used to play using Player1 controller while my little sister would press a button (can't remember which), that would allow me to fly right on top of the screen...thus avoiding most obstacles on every stage. The biggest cheat I found, though, was health boost! Once again, by pressing a button on Player2's controller, I could get maximum health bar. That game was so difficult, the only way I could finish it was by cheating.
Good that Street Fighter 1 didn't make the list. I only played it in my adulthood, out of curiosity as to why we never had it at our games/arcades centre. We had SF2 and so many others (including a 3D version that I can't recall the title). So in my early university years, I read an article saying SF1 was one of the hardest games to play. I found a copy at a games shop and played it. Could never get to the last stage with any character I had tried (as a kid I finished with every single character, and mastered all their moves). Avantar's avatar made me write the wall of text above!