What's the best Mario Kart game?

[OddieTheRock]

NOTE: I've never played a Mario Kart game at all.

List of projects I eventually plan to finish after the indefinite hiatus is over, assuming I don't abruptly cancel them:

Spoiler

Mario's Rather Unusual Trilogy (Mario's slightly unusual Boss Rush (Original release completed, Godot port underway), Mario vs. Some Unusual Foes (On hold), Mario's VERY Unusual Final Frontier (On hold))
Sonic's Foray into Random/Unusual Zones (spin-off of Unusual Trilogy, on hold)
Super Mario Flashback: Really Good Edition (On hold)
Super Hilda DX (Development underway)

I am aware that all of this is very ambitious, for now I'm only working on two of these at infrequent intervals.

+ List of projects I'm helping out with in some small capacity during my hiatus:

Spoiler

Super Mario Bros Dimensions 2 (as a spriter, only for Mario's sprites)
MFGG Community Fangame Project 3 (as a spriter)
WordGirl ReWired (as a artist)