I don't know how to explain it well but I was personally far more invested with Light than I was with L and that investment kinda dictates how I feel about both characters.
I understand that part 2 of Death Note sucked but I don't think you need an L level antagonist to make the story good. We could see how prior to getting into the thick of things with L, the show was still great with Raye Penber and his wife with the way Light took them out.
The inclusion of an 'antagonist' such as L is what makes an already interesting story even more interesting and great. For me, Death Note is unmatched and will almost certainly never be toppled. The closest that came to it, again for me, was Naoki Urasawa's Monster, and next up would be Code Geass.