In terms of actual ratings, I don't know how to answer your question. As far as the ones that got the most promotion and merchandise, it's probably a toss-up between Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Adventure Time with Finn and Jake, and the Ben 10 franchise.
I'd say that today's most popular/iconic Cartoon Network Original Series are Adventure Time and Steven Universe and in the past it was The Powerpuff Girls and Dexter's Laboratory.
To me, the most iconic and beloved Cartoon Network originals always seemed to be a three-piece act of Dexter's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, and Ed, Edd n' Eddy.
Dexter's Lab was their first original that could air during hours kids could watch, and wasn't a vehicle to show Turner's animation library with, and caught on almost right away. One notable quality of the series was how it was able to continually air on prime spots for the network during its 2 year hiatus, and kids didn't seem to tire of it at all. When the show finally came back, they treated it like a big deal, which it kind of was. Even though the later seasons weren't very good at all.
The Powerpuff Girls was the first series that CN actively marketed (although Dexter got a little bit of love, itself), and became a household name in no time. This was a series that could easily be marketed to young girls, but could also bring in solid ratings from boys and older viewers, like many of their best series. The fact that they've made anniversary specials and have a new series planned speak to the show's impact, whether or not today's kids are interested.
And while it's not easy to find the network's consistent ratings for its earlier years, I've read more than one article that suggested that Ed, Edd, n' Eddy was actually getting better ratings during some of the quarters from Powerpuff's height of popularity. This series was never as widely marketed as the other two (I've found conflicting reasons as to why, some believe that Danny Antonucci is almost like Bill Watterson in his reluctance to allow for much merchandise to be made, others have found that companies found the series hard to market- maybe both are true), but the show was a consistent ratings winner, from its humble beginnings to a very successful screening of the finale film, right down to being the network's most distinguished hit during an era that not many people were tuning in otherwise. If people talk about Cartoon Network's originals, this is just as likely to come up as the aforementioned two.
And it's hard to deny Adventure Time's success. It seems to have died down a little, with CN's more recent originals bringing in more fan appreciation, but it's still the most widely marketed and recognizable of their current series, and helped to bring audiences back to Cartoon Network. Add that with the Ben 10 franchise, and this would probably be your top 5.
Hm. Kinda hard to say, too many good shows, but I imagine that the Top 20 consists of
Adventure Time
Ben 10
Chowder
Clarence
Codename: KND
Courage
Cow & Chicken
Dexter's Lab
Ed Edd n Eddy
Flapjack
Foster's Home
Grim Adv. of Billy & Mandy
Gumball
Johnny Bravo
Powerpuff Girls
Regular Show
Samurai Jack
Steven Universe
Teen Titans Go!
Uncle Grandpa
At least I see these as the 20 most popular CN has. Narrowing it down to 10 or 5... Really hard. Partially because that changes all the time. If you'd ask me for #1 two years ago, I'd say Adventure Time whereas now it's Teen Titans Go!. TTG may not be that iconic for CN as AT has become, but it's getting there it seems... sadly.
If u did a Top 30, I'd add to these also Time Squad, Sheep in the Big City, I Am Weasel, Symbionic Titan, Generator Rex, Camp Lazlo, My Gym Partner, Space Ghost C2C, Secret Saturdays and Robot Jones/Mike Lu Og (depending on country).
the answer is... there is no CN show that even came CLOSE to the popularity & pop-culture icon status of SBSP probably because of SBSP! (CN shows like courage premiered at about the same time but that's a cult-classic) oh the irony! but yeah i can't think of any CN original that comes close to SBSP! now disney channel on the other hand if we count live-action shows & movies then the answer would without a doubt be either hannah montana or high school musical because of all the merchandise & they both have pop-culture icon status so thouse are the ONLY ones that even come close BUT im willing to bet that HM & HSM were even more popular then SBSP when they premiered!
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