I'm a firm believer that if you're going to write or read modern fantasy/sci-fi, you should read as many of the classics as you can get your hands on. "Classic" is a very subjective term, so I'm going to limit my lists to some of my personal favorites. I'm also limiting the lists to novels published before 2000, because listing my current faves would take all night. (And I have Baskin-Robbins ice cream to eat, people.)

These lists DO NOT include all the fantasy & sci-fi novels I love. I'll add more in future posts.

* Some of the novels cross both genres, so I've randomly classified them in one category or the other.

** Books considered to be primarily adult novels are noted.

Classic Fantasy Novels & Series:

1) The Hobbit – J.R.R. Tolkein

2) Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkein

3) The Cronicles of Narnia – C.S. Lewis

4) Howl's Moving Castle – Diana Wynne Jones

5) A Wrinkle in Time – Madeline L'Engle

6) Frankenstein – Mary Shelley

7) Something Wicked This Way Comes – Ray Bradbury

8) The Dark is Rising – Susan Cooper

9) The Witching Hour – Anne Rice (Adult)

10) Interview With The Vampire – Anne Rice (Adult)

11) The Chronicles of Chrestomanci – Diana Wynne Jones

12) Dracula – Bram Stoker

13) The Last Unicorn- Peter S. Beagle

14) The Golden Compass – Philip Pullman

 
15) The Neverending Story – Michael Ende

16) Harry Potter – J.K. Rowling

Science Fiction Novels:

1) The White Mountains – John Christopher

2) Ender's Game – Orson Scott Card

3) Farenheit 451 – Ray Bradbury

4) The Giver – Lois Lowry

5) Dune – Frank Herbert

6) I Am Legend – Richard Matheson (Adult)

7) A Clockwork Orange – Anthony Burgess (Adult)

8) A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy – Douglas Adams

Author Holly Black (WHITE CAT, TITHE, THE SPIDERWICK CHRONICLES) also has an awesome list of fantasy reads on her website.