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I have a beater copy of the Nikon 18mm f2.8 AF-D that i got from FM'er Bellyface. I use it on my FE2 daily, and quite a bit on the 5D that i just sold. Wide open, it had good (enough) center frame performance, and didn't drop off much towards the edges. It does have some falloff until stopped down to 4 or 5.6, and doesn't keep horizons perfectly straight, but it's my favorite wide.
Why? because it's small, portable, and when you're lucky enough to find a used copy in "bad" shape like i did, it's CHEAP!
I would say mine performs at least as good as the Canon 16-35mk1, but is far more portable. 18mm is, IMO, a great focal length.
The Nikon 20mm's are pretty good, i think most would be happy with them on a D3/700. I used one on my 5D for a few months and thought it was just fine.
The faster Nikon 24 and 28 AIS lenses are great, but as mentioned, are decades old designs due an update to compare to modern optics.
The 35/1.4 is a blast to use and carry, due to its small size and great feel- but wide open it is very soft and low-contrast. Stopped down much at all, it gets GREAT, but it is nowhere near the 35L wide open.
There are numerous great Nikon 50's.
50/2 AI is reported to be an EXCELLENT performer, i have one on the way from KEH and i'll know more soon. My cousin and I refer to it as the "NiKron", due to it being a cheap alternative to the Leica 50/2 Summicron-R.
50/1.8 AI is cheap, small, and ok. Wide open has very low contrast and not much to write home about.
50/1.4 AIS has some aggressive bokeh wide open that some users just won't like. Very sharp lens, i highly reccomend it. I've heard the AF version only got better(at least the newest version).
50/1.2 is rather soft, but has a nice look. Can be quite cheap, for a f1.2... 55/1.2 is similar boat.
58/1.2 noct-nikkor is said to be one of the best 50's available for SLR use, and from pictures it looks to be true. The Rokkor 58 might have dethroned it as far as accessiblity goes, since the Noct is so damned expensive, but you can't use the Rokkor on Nikon.
5.8CM 1.4 Nippon Kogaku- very old lens, was the first 1.4 standard avail for the F mount system. Made low numbers, apparently due to complex construction and tendency to suffer from shifting elements- my copy won't currently reach infinity due to this i believe. Other than that, it is a great performer. Awesome bokeh, great great great sharpness, esp for a lens from 1957.
the 85/1.4 AIS/AF-D are both great lenses, but the US market value for them is quite often highly overblown. I wouldn't pay the common US price for either of these lenses- you could pick one up on a convenient trip to Korea or Japan  and save some haha.
105/1.8 AIS totally kicks booty. Very heavy lens though, like the 85/1.4's, and takes an annoying 62mm filter. Razor sharp, but doesn't have good contrast until 2.8 or slower.
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It was out there in light rain for the best part of an hour, and I changed lenses a couple of times too. It looked best a few months ago with snow on the prism and gathering inside the lens hood - too bad I didn't have a compact with me to record that 