I stopped reading comics in early 2000. The new 52 brought me back in to reading comics. My taste is across the board of publishers, but a majority of the ones I get are DC. There are some great stories from the past, but for ease of accessibility the New 52 reboot makes it easier for people to jump in without 40+ years of back story.
yes the back story is a little daunting when you first go to get into comics, at least before the New 52. But even the artwork kept me from embracing it, I've recently tried reading Batman Knightfall where Bane breaks batmans back and i just couldn't. The artwork is so shitty in those older books. Then when I pick up Aquaman the Trench, its just beautiful, every page is amazing. I dunno, comics when i was growing up were always blah to look at.
Well, the 90's isn't exactly the best place to find art in comics unless you're reading Dark Horse or Vertigo stuff. That whole period had some pretty shit art.