SPOILERS AGAIN
Spoilers
The high points on this show are really fucking high (University, Whitecaps, Pine Barrens, Funhouse, everything from season 6 unrelated to Gay Vito), but there are some bad lows (the Columbus episode Michael Imperioli did, parts of seasons 4-6). Regarding Breaking Bad comparisons -
Breaking Bad only really faltered at the beginning with Marie and the dumbass baby tiara subplot. And perhaps in season 5 when the writers became too self-aware and took the safe route with major plot points instead of crafting an ending like Sopranos did, an ending which is still being debated and appreciated 10 years later.
Sopranos is MUCH more ambitious in scope and narrative, similar to The Wire but still nowhere near that scale- whereas Breaking Bad has this laser sharp focus on about 5 characters, Sopranos frequently changes perspective, even for single shots at times ("I found Jimmy Hoffa!") and in doing so gives a much broader commentary on society as a whole, but also suffers at times from lack of direction (the episode where Carmela goes to Italy with Rosalie comes to mind, Melfi's rape comes out of nowhere and is never discussed again, some of the Ralphie stuff, much of Meadow's bullshit). Sopranos also is not afraid to kill of characters which is a plus. Jesse should have been dead in season 2.
Anyway both are really good at what they do - Breaking Bad has an extremely tight story predominantly about one specific person and is ultimately a simple tragedy about the choices we make. It never really makes any moral judgments nor requires the viewer to do so, it only requires that you understand why the characters make the choices that they make. The arc of Walter White is also unprecedented in any work of fiction I've seen. In terms of dramatic payoff and building tension it is also unsurpassed.
By contrast, Tony does not really have an arc - he attempts to better himself at times but ultimately ends up right back where he started at the very end which is what the ending was all about - you reap what you sow by living a life of violence and exploitation, whether that is a bullet to the face, a life of paranoia waiting for the other shoe to drop at any moment, or simply a life devoid of value or meaning beyond material gain. People never really change. That's an underlying theme in Sopranos. Name one character in the show who is in a different place in season 6 relative to season 1 (being dead doesn't count). It's really the most nihilistic story ever and it doesn't ring untrue at all which is what makes it so disturbing.
What Sopranos is really good at though is giving the perspective of 10-20+ characters to really thoroughly analyze a situation from multiple angles - this works particularly well when we see the perspective of the people being exploited (the guy from Terminator 2 who runs the sporting goods store, the guy in Members Only who hangs himself, the cop who loses his job, Artie, any of Tony's girlfriends, and on and on) to make a definitive moral point about why the actions of the main characters are so fucked up. In University for example there's this really striking contrast between how Tony and pals treat the strippers at the Bing versus how Tony treats his daughter and it's all very intentional to make a point about the way women are regarded in society. That sort of complex idea is never expressed so overtly in Breaking Bad. Most of the main characters are hypocrites and the show is very explicit at pointing this out, but there's also deeper commentary going on.
Anyway just wanted to chime in, either could be the best show ever but it depends what you're looking for. The Wire surpasses both regarding presentation of complex socioeconomic concepts, Breaking Bad is better at characterization and thrilling storytelling, and Sopranos is somewhere in between.
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