the quality and atmosphere of MLS football still can not compare to Europe, South America, and Japan. but, there are quite a few teams that make the MLS worth Watching atmosphere wise and Gameplay wise. while some dont.

 amazing Atmosphere wise:

Seattle Sounders
Montreal Impact
Vancouver Whitecaps
Portland Timbers.
D.C United (for such a screwed up stadium those Presidential people do pretty nice in the stands).
Sporting Kansas city

Bad Atmopshere wise:

NE Revolution
Chivas USA
Chicago Fire.
FC Dallas.

Great Gameplay wise:

LA Galaxy
Seattle sounders
Sporting Kansas city
New York Red Bulls.
San Jose Earthquakes
Houston Dynamo

Bad gameplay wise:
... TFC.
Crew
Revolution

 (in my opinion) these opinions may differentiate for you.

I think what really boosted the MLS over the years was very smart expansions. even though i hate the franchise/relocation/expansion idea, atleast when the MLS do it, they give it to soccer cities with super amazing fans, nice stadiums, and good gameplay. Seattle Sounders play amazing, they have made it to all 4 cup finals for all 4 seasons theyve been in the league.. there fans are a hundred times better then the likes of Wigan, Fulham, Real Mallorca, Getafe,  and there atmosphere is alot more entertaining then many elite clubs in Europe.  Vancouver made it to the playoffs in only there second season, back in 2006 when the Houston Dynamo were added, they won the 2006 then 2007 MLS Cup's. Portland's atmosphere is also sublime and makes you wanna watch there matches
Montreal was a city begging for a club due to its french influence, that french influence making Montreal Atmopheres worth a look at.
Toronto FC despite not making the playoffs yet, have had an amazing cult support who havent quit yet and still fill up the stands every game.

Some stupid expansions were Chivas USA, but thats probably the only blemish on the MLS's expanion smarts.

only a couple of years ago, the MLS was a boring, anti climatic,unatmospheric, shit league with nothing worth seeing truly.. then they started making these amazing expansions, and the league has gotten better in all aspects pretty quickly.

one more thing, the fact that the MLS doesn't shut itself off from the world is admirable (MLS Clubs play in the CONCACAF Champions league and the Club World cup shall an MLS club win a CCL), unlike The NBA and the NHL who dont play continental competition and only play within themselves. and the maintenance of a nationwide Cup Competition that has actually been going for nearly a hundred years way before the creation of the MLS, and that Lower league opposition can still win despite not being able to be promoted.

what are your opinions? i believe the MLS continues to make good decisions, and the quality in all aspects continues to get better every season.

My gf is a huge Seattle Sounders fan, and goes to their games when she can. She said the atmosphere is fantastic, and as you say, their game-play is really coming along in leaps and bounds.

I think it will continue to increase, especially if Central and South American talent are given monetary incentive to further their career there, instead of looking Europe-wards.

Wile living in Chicago for 9 years I only saw one game of the MLS between Chicago fire vs Real Salt Lake and let me tell
You it was pathetic. Nobody cheered, the game was a boring 0-0 draw with hardly any chances. Now I also got to see Chicago fire vs ManU and that one was a tiny bit better but not by much. It's more of a social gathering than a sporting event. 

Actually this is one thing that I think has the possibility to change, and, I think the rest of the world would be a little surprised at the effect, if the US started taking football seriously.

Look at the Olympics, for example. Aside from China having suddenly (and suspiciously) become good at a ton of events, the US is one of the (if not the most) dominant Olympic nations, every time. They regularly have some of the fastest runners, best swimmers, highest jumpers, and etc etc blah blah blah.

You know this to be true.

But, the thing about the US is that while these top athletes go off and win their medals, there is a HUGE wealth of didn't-quite-make-it athletes, who need to find something else to do. If you're a kid in the US who can run, or throw, then you get shoe-horned into playing American Football. If you are tall, and can jump, you get funneled into basketball. If you have good hand-eye coordination, baseball might be for you, or even ice hockey. 95% of kids who show sports promise basically get shoved into their favorite 3 or 4 sports, and the best make something of themselves.

The rejects go into football (or soccer, as they call it).

Imagine if this nation, whose athletic prowess and gene-pool enable them to be constant front-runners at the Olympic games, were to pump their best and most talented kids into football, instead. Just imagine. They have the sports facilities, they have the school sports systems, and believe me they have the traditional American obsession with Being Number One at something they care about.

Right now, they don't care about football, though slowly but surely more or them are starting to.

Give it 20 years, and enough enthusiasm, and we may be looking at regulars for the WC Final. If America were persuaded to care about football the way they care about their own provincial sports, then you'd see the MLS rise (in terms of quality) as fast as Manchester City or Paris St Germain. Believe it.

So don't write them off just yet, raimondo. If there's one thing the US hates, it's not being the best at something. If the MLS continues to grow in popularity, as this 'social event' you're talking about, they might just start turning that rabid, infamous obsession in our direction... ;)

Revs and Sounders are my two teams, although they are polar opposites. I think that an expansion in Orlando or Atlanta would be better than NY, as the NY Red Bulls can't even fill up their stadium. Orlando or Atlanta, who you could compare to Portland and Seattle sports team wise, I think would embrace a team more than NY. As for raimondo90's comment, Chicago's atmosphere is horrendous. It never was a soccer city, and I don't think it ever will be. As I noted above, cities like Portland who don't have sports teams, or Seattle, who had one taken away create an electric atmosphere. If you want to truely experience the MLS at it's best, watch a Western Conference game in Portland, Salt Lake, Seattle, Vancouver, or even San Jose. 

If the MLS wishes to be noticed, a club from the MLS must win the Champions league (CONCACAF), and preform atleast decently at Club world cup. things may start to change.

Mexican clubs dominate the scene continentally , but the United states is catching up pretty rapidly.

despite our fast progress.. an MLS Club has not lifted the Champions league since the LA Galaxy in the year 2000.  We had a runner up in Real Salt lake 1 or 2 years ago and thats the closest weve got since.

But the better we get the closer we get. in the next couple of years, were gonna have an American Champion.

Lodatz I couldn't agree more about the US eventually being WC contenders. One thing the US breeds is pure athleticism, no question about it.

I've never been to an MLS game. Out of all the games I've watched I think Seattle and Kansas City have the best fan base. That and they play well.

Vancouver whitecaps!!!