I'll put the '76 Reds lineup, position by position, up against any...The '86 Mets squad was hardly a team of the ages. They are remembered mainly for being the beneficiaries of the Buckner bungle (and for being a NY team).
Teams within my lifetime that were better: The 70's A's, Reds, Yankees; the 80's A's, the 90's Braves and Yankees, and the '00's Yanks and Red Sox. I'd even throw the 70's Orioles and Dodgers in for good measure, although they didn't win it all in that decade.
I agree - the mid-late 80s Mets were good, but they weren't great. It's funny I was going to bring up the mid '70s Reds as a clearly superior team, also.