Your opinion is less popular than you might think. The problem I have with them is that many people tend to focus most of their attention on one show at a time, which means that the long running shows take up all of the time they could use to experience various other series.
I'm actually very happy I started off with a mix of shows ranging from mecha, sci-fi, fantasy, romantic comedy, psychological and horror. It gave me some good exposure to the range of subjects that anime can cover.
For example - my memory's a bit fuzzy - but off the top off my head, the first shows I watched were: Evangelion, Golden Boy, Slayers, Ah! My Goddess, Onegai Teacher, Gunslinger Girls and Serial Experiments Lain. That's about as diverse as you can get.