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That list of 20 looks like it was written by someone fairly young. There's a huge gap there between the inevitable old classics that are always in print and books printed after 1979. I think the only reason I, Robot is listed is that the movie tie-in came out. I agree with the aformentioned Samuel R. Delany as one of the important ones. His Einstein Intersection certainly changed my life. Also seriously, seriously, seriously conspicuous by his absence is J.G. Ballard. On any list like that, I'd also include the Dangerous Visions anthology. Although it is a bit dated now, it shook things up at the time. Also missing is Harlan Ellison's "Repent, Harlequin! Said the Ticktockman. Say what you will about Ellison as a person, that story rocks. Let's not forget the books that really did change people's lives too; books like Heinlein's Stranger in a Strange Land and Herbert's Dune. I guess familiarity really does breed contempt. I'd also put Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination on any such list as well. And how can we forget Jack Vance's The Dying Earth? One book that I would be tempted to include that I only recently discovered right her on the forum is George MacDonald's Lilith. It was written as fantasy but he discusses concepts that science didn't discover until string theory.
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