This Recording rates the 100 Greatest Science Fiction or Fantasy Novels of all Time. It's worth reading the entire list and commentary, but the top 20 titles are reproduced below, with links to the library's catalog when applicable.

I should point out that The Lord of the Rings and Dune probably belong in the top five by any objective standard. I was delighted to see George Martin, Guy Gavriel Kay, and Ursula Le Guin placing so high (in the top twenty), and in some cases more than once. Rather unforgivable is the omission of Stephen R. Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant from the entire list of 100 -- something's quite wrong there. But for the most part it's a comprehensive grouping that should please most sci-fic/fantasy buffs. Many of the 100 titles are in the library's collection, and some that are not will soon be ordered. If you spot one we don't have and would like to read, please let us know.

20. The Fifth Head of Cerebus, Gene Wolfe.
19. A Song of Ice and Fire, George R.R. Martin.
18. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein.
17. The Fionvar Tapestry, Guy Gavriel Kay.
16. The Master and the Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov.
15. The Man in the High Castle, Philip Dick.
14. All My Sins Remembered, Joe Haldeman.
13. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien.
12. Planet of Adventure, Jack Vance.
11. Dune, Frank Herbert.
10. A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess.
9. The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin.
8. The Book of the New Sun, Gene Wolfe.
7. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley.
6. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley.
5. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay.
4. The Dispossessed, Ursula K. Le Guin.
3. The Dying Earth, Jack Vance.
2. The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, Robert Heinlein.
1. The Book of the Long Sun, Gene Wolfe.