The Easiest way I've found to keep GM's LS engines straight is to refer to them by their Generation (ie Gen 3=LS1, Gen4=LS2/3). This will confuse most car guys, however, as they will just call all of them "The LS1".
This page outlines all of the engines in Chevy's generation 3, both by displacement and year by year. It aims to aid in finding an engine from a junkyard, identifying specific engine models, or teaching the history of Gen 3.
All mentions of Silverado/Suburban also include the GMC equivalent (Sierra/Yukon) for simplicity's sake, unless otherwise noted.
The Vin Code listed denotes the 8th digit of the vehicles 17-Digit Vin Number. This is a good way to determine exactly what engine something has (or originally had, anyways...).
Iron Block
"Vortec 4800"
1999-2007 - Vin V
'99-'07 Silverado 1500
'00-'06 Tahoe
'03-'07 Express 2500/3500
Iron Block
"Vortec 5300"
1999-2007 - Vin T
'99-'07 Silverado 1500
'99-'00 Silverado 2500
'00-'06 Suburban 1500
'00-'06 Tahoe
'03-'07 Express 1500/2500
'02-'06 Avalanche 1500
'02-'05 Escalade 2WD
Iron Block
"Vortec 5300 (Flex Fuel)"
2002-2007 - Vin Z
'02-'07 Silverado 1500
'02-'06 Suburban 1500
'02-'06 Tahoe
'05-'06 Avalanche 1500
Aluminum Block
"Vortec 5300"
2003-2005 - Vin P
'03-'05 Trailblazer EXT
'03-'04 SSR
'04-'04 GMC Envoy XL/XUV
'04-'04 Buick Rainier
'03-'04 Isuzu Ascender
Aluminum Block
"Vortec 5300 HO"
2005-2007 - Vin B
'05-'07 Silverado 1500 4WD
Aluminum Block
1997-2005 - Vin G
'97-'04 Corvette
'98-'02 Firebird
'98-'02 Camaro Z28/SS
'04-'04 GTO
Aluminum Block
2002-2007 - Vin S
'01-'04 Corvette Z06
'04-'05 Cadillac CTS-V
Iron Block
"Vortec 6000"
1999-2007 - Vin U
'99-'07 Silverado 1500HD-3500
'00-'06 Suburban 1500LTZ/2500
'02-'07 Hummer H2
'03-'07 Express 2500/3500
'03-'08 W-Series
Iron Block
"Vortec HO 6000/VortecMAX"
2002-2007 - Vin N
'02-'06 Escalade AWD/EXT
'03-'06 Escalade ESV
'05-'06 Escalade 2WD
'03-'07 Silverado SS/HO/VortecMAX
'05-'06 Sierra Denali
* Signifies New Introduction
First Year of the LS1
Corvette
Aluminum Block
LS1 Added to Firebird and Camaro
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird
Aluminum Block
3 New Iron-Block Truck Engines Introduced in the Silverado
Silverado 1500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500/2500
Iron Block
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird
Aluminum Block
Silverado HD
Iron Block
Suburban and Tahoe get the new engines
Silverado 1500, *Tahoe
Iron Block
Silverado 1500/2500, *Suburban 1500, *Tahoe
Iron Block
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird
Aluminum Block
Silverado HD, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500
Iron Block
Higher Compression 5.7L LS6 introduced for Corvette Z06
Silverado 1500, Tahoe
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe
Iron Block
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird
Aluminum Block
Corvette Z06
Aluminum Block
Silverado *2500/HD, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500
Iron Block
Higher Performance 6.0L LQ9 Introduced, Flex Fuel L59 introduced, Avalanche and Escalade get LM7s, Hummer H2 gets LQ4.
Silverado 1500, Tahoe
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, *Avalanche 1500, *Escalade 2WD
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe
Iron Block
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird
Aluminum Block
Corvette Z06
Aluminum Block
Silverado 2500/HD, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500
Iron Block
Escalade AWD/EXT
Iron Block
Aluminum Block 5.3 introduced for Trailblazer EXT and Chevy SSR, Express gets LR4, LM7, and LQ4
Silverado 1500, Tahoe, *Express 2500/3500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Avalanche 1500, Escalade 2WD, *Express 1500/2500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe
Iron Block
Trailblazer EXT, Chevrolet SSR, Isuzu Ascender
Aluminum Block
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird
Aluminum Block
Corvette Z06
Aluminum Block
Silverado 1500HD-3500, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500, Hummer H2, Express 2500/3500, W-Series
Iron Block
Escalade AWD/EXT/ESV, *Silverado SS/HO
Iron Block
GMC Envoy XL/XUV and Buick Rainier get LM4, Pontiac GTO Gets LS1, Cadillac CTS-V Gets LS6
Silverado 1500, Tahoe, *Express 2500/3500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Avalanche 1500, Escalade 2WD, Express 1500/2500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe
Iron Block
Trailblazer EXT, Chevrolet SSR, Isuzu Ascender, *GMC Envoy EL/XUV, *Buick Rainier
Aluminum Block
Corvette, Camaro, Firebird, *GTO
Aluminum Block
Corvette Z06, *Cadillac CTS-V
Aluminum Block
Silverado 1500HD-3500, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500, Hummer H2, Express 2500/3500, W-Series
Iron Block
Escalade AWD/EXT/ESV, Silverado SS/HO
Iron Block
Gen4 Debuts, Replaces LS1 and LM4 (Trailblazer EXT gets one more year of LM4). L33 Releases as the only Aluminum Truck Engine. Avalanche gets Flex Fuel. Sierra Denali gets LQ9
Silverado 1500, Tahoe, *Express 2500/3500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Avalanche 1500, Escalade 2WD, Express 1500/2500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, *Avalanche 1500
Iron Block
Replaced by LH6
Silverado 1500 4WD
Aluminum Block
Trailblazer EXT
Aluminum Block
Replaed by LS2
Cadillac CTS-V
Aluminum Block
Silverado 1500HD-3500, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500, Hummer H2, Express 2500/3500, W-Series
Iron Block
Escalade AWD/EXT/ESV, Silverado SS/HO, Sierra Denali
Iron Block
LS7 Replaces LS6, Silverado VortecMAX introduced. Escalade 2WD drops LM7.
Silverado 1500, Tahoe, Express 2500/3500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Avalanche 1500, Express 1500/2500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Suburban 1500, Tahoe, Avalanche 1500
Iron Block
Replaced by LH6
Silverado 1500 4WD
Aluminum Block
Replaced by LS7
3Silverado 1500HD-3500, Suburban 1500LTZ/2500, Hummer H2, Express 2500/3500, W-Series
Iron Block
Escalade AWD/EXT/ESV, Silverado SS/HO, Sierra Denali, *Silverado VortecMAX
Iron Block
LS7 Replaces LS6, Silverado VortecMAX introduced.
Silverado 1500, Express 2500/3500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500, Express 1500/2500
Iron Block
Silverado 1500
Iron Block
Replaced by LH6
Silverado 1500 4WD
Aluminum Block
Replaced by LS7
Silverado 1500HD-3500, Hummer H2, Express 2500/3500, W-Series
Iron Block
Silverado SS/HO, Silverado VortecMAX
Iron Block
All Gen 3 Engines but LQ4 Cease Production
Replaced by LY2
Replaced by LMG/LY5
Replaced by LC9
W-Series
Iron Block
Replaced by L92
All Gen 3 Engines Cease Production
Replaced by LY6/L76