Hmm, you got me thinking. My own favorite top ten Scorsese films goes Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Aviator, Bringing Out the Dead, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Casino, Cape Fear, The Color of Money, then The Last Temptation of Christ. I like his slicker stuff, but you seem to like his early grittier slice of life stuff.
Fair observation, even if I hadn't considered in exactly those terms. My love for I Vitelloni might perhaps be playing a role in my atypically high valuation of Mean Streets and Who's That Knocking At My Door (although, that influence even threads its way through Goodfellas). Of his big historical pieces, I quite enjoy The Aviator. That was a bold attempt that worked out pretty good.