I really loved my Gamecube. I got mine around launch, for free, kinda. At the time the company I was working for had a bad fiscal year, and couldn't afford to give out their regular Christmas bonuses. Since it a game studio, they got deals on bulk console purchases and gave every employee a choice between a Gamecube and Xbox as a bonus. If you guys remember, they were launched around the same time that year, and the launch titles for the GC seemed so much better than Xbox. Luigi's Mansion, Rogue Squadron:Rogue Leader, and Tony Hawk 3 were the titles that interested me. Compared to Halo on Xbox that was the only game that I was remotely interested in.
Later on having RE4, Wind Waker, the Metroid Primes and Soul Calibur 2 (Playing as Link in a fighting game was one of my dreams!) along with being able to play GBA games solidified my choice. Honourable mentions: Ikaruga (probably the best port of the game because of all the added features), Mario Sunshine, Double Dash, RE0, Resident Evil: Code Veronica (port), and Paper Mario.
The controller never really bothered me as much as the three-pronged fisher price toy of the N64. With the GC's vastly better analog stick that is still working 100% today, you can't say that about the N64 stick. Especially since the Wavebird was the best option for wireless controls for any console at that time. But in good ol' Nintendo fashion they tried pushing that GBA connectivity gimmick, which only a handful of games bothered using. I remember it being kinda neat in Wind Waker, but no other game other than Pacman Vs. made a solid attempt at integrating that feature.
The gamecube may have been one of Nintendo's biggest failures, but the games library on it was top notch. I put it in the same category as the Dreamcast. Great system, great games, but a business failure.