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I have a lot of armies for a bunch of games, back when I was actively collecting. Now, I've largely moved away from adding to the piles.

40k
1. Craftworld Eldar - Jes Goodwin sculpted some amazing minis back in the RT/2E era, and Eldar have been fairly well-supported and generally competitive.
2. Imperial Guard - I get a huge kick from humble, ordinary humans battling space aliens, and I love military modeling, resulting in lots of armor conversions.
3. Chaos Marines - they complete the Xenos - Imperial - Chaos trifecta, while checking the MEQ box, but I like my IG and CWE more.
H. Imperial Inquisition - so many cool varied models, for Henchmen, Sisters and Assassins.

Battlefleet Gothic
1. Eldar - Graceful models and different tactical play
2. Chaos - I like the spiky daggerhead ships; excellent for Midway / Pearl Harbor swarming.
3. Imperial - inexpensive, but dangerous with their Nova Cannon and armored prows.

Necromunda
1. Sypre Hunters - more awesome models, and super elite in game.
2. Escher - more of Jes' crowning work here. So characterful.

Warmachine
1. Cryx - I really like the Helljacks, and the fast speed thing works for me.
2. Khador - A buddy replaced metal with plastic, so I gave them a home.

Warhammer Fantasy
1. Dogs of War - I love the look of HRE Gothic plate, and the sheer variety of units, even if not particularly effective.
2. Empire - Notionally more effective, but I never got my heart into it.

I've basically settled on my various playable factions for the foreseeable future. I overbought, but I don't particularly regret it, as I had a lot of fun with the stuff.

I play the Astra Militarum because of all the faction in 40k, they best represent feeling of Warhammer.

Your army is made from the unfortunate, brave every man, faced against the horrors of the galaxy. Some face it in a tank, some on the front lines, some far away. They are not ancient bring capable of living hundreds of years, they are blind to all but the visceral terror of the galaxy.

There are very few space marines on a grand scale, but there are guard everywhere. Your army is unique in being able to be any cultural view point portrayed in 40k

My first set I ever bought was a box of Tau Fire Warriors. I was a lot younger and it was the start of 5th edition and I thought the models looked awesome. After getting my gak kicked around for a few months I put the hobby on hold for a few years up until 6th edition came around. At this point I decided to regrow my Tau (before the new codex) with a focus on Tanks (horrible mistake) and also started up Orks. Their blind idiotic fun and the stupid amount of dice I threw at the table had me sold on them. That paired with the conversion-ability led to me growing the army so fast that it Dwarved my Tau force. Since the release of each of their codexes I've slowed down a bit. The only new things I got for the Tau were one Riptide and Darkstrider. And for the Orks I got my first Super Heavy, the Kill Bursta tank from forgeworld. With the new rules for Ion weapons I tabled my local CSM player in turn 3 for my first game back to Tau and since then have been playing Orks generally losing more frequently but laughing my ass off at the funny and lucky things that happen.

I like Tau for their Tech. It is the reason I started them back when they sucked. As I grew and learned more I began to like the harsh undertones of the imminent darkness of the ethereals and the distrust of some among the fire caste (and even some earth caste) in particular the Ke'lshan sept(who I think supply Farsight with new tech although it is more likely that Vior'la does). As of recent I really enjoy them because I hate the everloving gak out of the Eldar and love nothing more than dropping AP 3 markerlight boosted cover ignoring blueberry pie plates on their silly jinking jet bikes.

As for Orks I play them for the fun and the derp. To the absolute contrast of the organized and technologically advanced Tau there was the heap of hollering cussing and violent green brutes carrying pistols bigger than a mans head and blades bigger than a mans body. Their pure goofiness lured me in. They are the jagged piece of glass just as likely to hurt the wielder to the Tau's glass cannon.

I also think it is hilarious how opposite they are in the sense that most Tau upgrades increase quality while most ork upgrades increase quantity.

Is it odd that I've never allied the two.

PS
I am considering starting a Carcharodons, Minotaurs or custom chapter of Spess Mehreens

Orks: Does one really need a reason? Haha. I love the fluff and stories behind them, and the burly models are a lot of fun for me to paint. Not to mention pretty much anything can happen with ork modelling.

CSM Night Lords: The fluff really got me. The thought of being the black sheep of CSM's, kinda the outcast of the outcast was awesome, and the paint schemes with all the lightning was quite a challenge.

Tau cause they're generally nice guys and team players! Also they at least offer for the enemy to join them before wiping them out. And Fire Warriors are awesome.

Blood Angels cause they're good guys who stick up for the little guy, have the coolest primarch, chapter master and mysterious hero (Sanguinor) IMO and space vampires!

Dark Eldar cause they're the most cunning and have beautiful models.

Sisters + Inquisition, because the heretics ain't gonna purge themselves.

Orks because I freaking love to kitbash. All the damn day. And seeing as they can uh, requisition lotsa neat fingz, my grimy little heart is always filled with joy.
Hair Squigs. I just can't process the daft.

Imperial Guard, which is a complete 180 from my original opinion of, "Soldiers in space? Boring."
I don't know where the tipping point was, but the gradual realisation of this absolute ironic gak-heap of unsolvable mess the Imperium has become, is ever so appealing. When the average citizen is worth less than the desk he sits at, and the soldier less than the gun he wields, what is the war even for, really? It's almost like Megacity in 2000AD where the role of justice has overtaken the people it's supposed to protect.
Also because at the end of the day, they're all just people. People having to kill, work and die, and rationalise that without question or pause. Even commissars, generals, etc. have to sleep at the end of the day, and settle with their actions. The idea that they're not beyond distress is actually somewhat comforting, putting humanity back into the setting.

Blood Angels - Back in 3rd ed for the double CC fisted dread. Red colour only makes it look more sweet. Found out that it was useless on the TT (That was the era of rhino rush), but still bought 1 more. I have 2 old school metal box dreads. Will pick up the plastic one in the future. Still think the metal box dread the best looking miniature in the whole range

Tyranids - Huge Xenomorph fan. Loved the look of the walkrant and the carnifex. Bought a 1850pt army for $150 back in the day under some GW deal, where you got a double box-set under 1 big set thingy. (I think had 6 warriors, 12 stealers, 3 fexes, and 36 gaunts?) GW figured out it was too cheap and pulled it out 3 months in, so I was lucky to get it. Since then, they nerfed the codex to the ground. Thanks Cruddace!

I have the 4th ed space hulk box, so that's a double-bonus!

Orks - Nothin' more fun den krumpin' oomies in massive swarms
Eldar - Love the lore and the space-elf style and themes
Deldar - Love the lore and there playstyle
Daemons - Really cool models and fun to play
Necrons - Robots, who doesn't love em? Competitive and have a very appealing yet basic paint scheme as well as the twisted mechanical aesthetic.

Sons of Antaeus (Ultramarines) : When I got back into the hobby in February I wanted to re-learn things with something simple. Space Marines with Ultramarine Chapter tactics seemed a good starting point and I themed my army around one of the old cursed founding forces from way back in the day. When I first got into the hobby, back in third, the guy that basically taught me the game played a cursed founding army and while he and I don't hang out anymore it felt *right* to set my sights there.

Lamenters (Blood Angels) : I'd never really gotten into Blood Angels before but as I was refreshing my knowledge of the lore and the events thereof I was reminded how much I love the story of the Badab War. Plus I'd never, even before my hiatus from the hobby, done an army with a "bright" scheme. Yellow seemed a good place to start. Plus by the lore the Lamenters are Cursed Founding as well.

Sons of Medusa (Iron Hands) : I'd done an all around force and a BA force and I wanted to really sit down and do a dedicated Drop Pod army. Iron Hands seemed the way to go for that effort and in terms of modelling and army composition I really wanted to convey a force that was well armed and equipped, even by Marine standards. I wanted to do Grav weaponry, plasma coming out of my ears, and wargear. In thinking of a scheme I had become burned out on white primer and the brightness of the Lamenters so I decided on a green. Green and Iron Hands means Sons of Medusa... who happen to have been involved in the Badab War.

Ghost Bears (Grey Knights) : After doing those three I wanted to do something silly. I thought about Space Wolves for a while but I wanted things to be more jacked up than that, more esoteric. Also after having just done green I wanted to do a blue scheme, and I had scores of weird bits laying around. So I made up a chapter of Space-Haida or Chinook... the Ghost Bears, named for my favorite faction in classic Battletech.

It was then that I decided it was time to revisit the forces I'd been playing when I left the hobby; the Cadian 55th and Kellersburg Irregular Grenadiers, the first being a traditional IG army and the latter being Witch Hunters back when they were a thing and could take Storm Troopers as troops. I had Astra Militarum and Militarum Tempestus to work with and their schemes fit in perfectly with the color wheel I'd made for myself. The Cadians fit nicely between the Green of the Sons of Medusa and the Brown of the Sons of Antaeus. The Grenadiers were red and black.

Right now I'm dabbling in Soul Drinkers (Purple) and contemplating Adeptus Mechanicus.

While I hadn't planned it from the outset since getting back into the hobby I've stuck to Imperial forces. I'd always mainly played Imperial armies but I'd never had multiples of them. Now with the detachment system and all my forces being Battle Brothers I've got an obscene amount of potential tools at my disposal, all WYSIWYG'd and all in clearly identifiable schemes. In a league a few months back I was routinely running three and four detachment lists at 2000pts and no one ever had trouble identifying what was what and belonged to which faction.

Lost and the Damned- because the idea of a bunch of puny humans dancing around a bonfire and summoning horrors from beyond to tear apart the enemy xenos or super soldiers purely by the power of their primal, human emotions appeals to me immensely. Puny humans? You make us desperate and you'll soon learn that we're the scariest things in the whole ing galaxy.

That an army of allied guardsmen and daemons is just fun to play on the tabletop helps too.

I play for Fluff and lore first and foremost in my armies. Power levels come and go, My love for my armies will stay

40K
Imperial Fists:
Love the lore, the look, Their attitude towards "HOLD THE LINE!" really sells them for me. Yellow was a hard color to learn to paint properly, but now I feel proficient in it where it isn't a struggle to get it right. Learned many ways to become a better painter, So I really love my Imperial Fists for showing me through practice, time, and patience, the paint will really shine and give me pride to play and display.

Dark Angels Ravenwing:
Love the biker army mentality of hit fast and hit hard I really like how the Ravenwing colors and symbol hail from the pre heresy days, I couldn't care less about power levels, If it isn't mounted on tires or floating, it doesn't get a part in my army.

Fantasy
Dwarves
What's not to love about a short, drunken, bearded and stubborn army? My favorite part of them is "the book of grudges" where they write down all their hate of who has ever done them wrong.

Space Marines: I love creating my own fluff and the codex has enough flexibility to allow me to field an army that is really "me" and reflects my Chapters combat doctrine

Plus, Contemptor Pattern Dreadnaughts <3

Grey Knights: They're Paladins IN SPAACCEE. What's not to love

Tyranids: The unquestionable "bad guys" and the reason my Space Marines chapter history is what it is. Plus they have some of the best models imo

Imperial Guard: Tanks. Russes, Valkyries and Wyverns, Oh my!

Eldar, because an army of elite, highly specialised troopers is a tactical, enjoyable challenge.

Sisters of Battle, because the existence heretics cannot be tolerated. Purge them!

Elysians, because I like the idea of air cavalry, the fluff in IA3 is awesome, with heroic,highly trained men willing going unto death to fight for their ideals.

Inquisition, because I like the idea of politics and shadow warfare, combined with ultra zealousness.

Pre Heresy Dark Angels, because the Legions are cool, the Dark Angels have great imagery, and my mates got me into the spirit.