I have been holding points on another site, and need to spend them for closure.  Anything new is unheard of there, so I am hoping for recommendations from our experienced and learned members here.  To aid in receiving rec's, here is my eclectic favorites list.

***categorized as loved***

*LoTR (and to a lesser degree The Hobbit)  I love the epic scope, but I think JRRT's ability to visualize and create the world nourished the quality.

*Dresden files.   don't know what to say, just love the series, ...the way Harry is always up against it, but still fighting to be one of the good guys even if he has to get his hands dirty in the process

*Harry Potter  (I know, sorry, "childrens fiction", and there'll be some YA to come)  but again, I think it is somewhat the realization of the world, ... and a few bigger than childlike ideas

*Odd Thomas  I like the strange world in which he inhabits, and the quirkiness (Elvis, Sinatra) takes the edge off of it in an amusing way

*Anita Blake  BUT only the first 6-8  Love, love loved the series, ...then the author developed an alternate personality, ...one that doesn't know how to  write

***strong liking***

*Connor Gray series -Mark DelFranco  slight similarity to Dresden, but milder, and magical handicap issues

*Sookie Stackhouse series (C. Harris)   just a fun brain candy series

*Dragon Riders of Pern   -the "core" of the series, but the one book of shorts that I read didn't capture me as much

*Chronicles of Narnia   I would have liked anyway, but some of my attachment may be due to childhood fav's

*Nightside (Simon R Green)  first couple books looked like loving the series, but some plot 'points' seem to be just a bit too predictable, or overused, as if he's determined to run through every myth in the book

*Fear Nothing and Seize the Night (Christopher Snow) by D. Koontz  I could soooo see our govt. being that dipshit, and covering up. 

*Sunshine (Robin McKinley)  Interesting and non-romantic vamp story,  I just wish we knew more at the end.  Of course, if she took it farther, it might have to end up in the Romance dept., and might spoil things.

***liking, but without a lot of notable reasons***

*Night Huntress series, Jeannine Frost

*Black Dagger Brotherhood

*Vampire Academy

That isn't all, and if you're still reading yet, at this point, I should still stop listing.  It may be pertinent to mention that I appreciated movies/tv such as Star Trek, Stargate, Torchwood and Doctor Who, Firefly, etc. but haven't picked up as much (space) sci-fi.

Any pointers would be appreciated, and thanks for taking the time!!!

Edited for clarity and typos

Angie, you might try PBS' FABIL (Find a Book I'll Like) system for some recommendations.

Angie, check out Kim Harrison's books in the Dead Witch Walking series, and also anything by Patricia Briggs.

Robin

Tom Holt

or Robert Rankin.

Tom Holt and Robert Rankin seem possible, due to the age of the writing.  Anything within the last 10 years is probably pipe dreaming over the other sites availability (wishlisting isn't useful there).  Although the other suggestions are good, they will have to be things I get here.  FABIL is also good for here and not so much for there, because it tends to suggest newer books to me.

I probably should have said that I need to stay in classic fantasy and sci-fi to have a chance of accessing the books on the other site.

Thanks for the suggestions, though.

I was in a similar situation a couple of years ago, with credits on a site which had basically no books.  I ended up using my credits on some good books that everyone already seems to have copies of (Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy), and plenty of generic fantasy series (Forgotten Realms books).  However, I did have good luck with two older series: the Vlad series by Steven Brust, and the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. 

The Vlad series is still coming out with new books today, but the first in the series is about 30 years old, and there are a lot of copies running around in used book stores.  The Vlad books have a lot of different tones (one reads like a exploration of family history, one focuses on law) but for the most part they are fantasy mysteries, roughly medieval in timeframe (lots of swords and sorcery, no real guns or advanced weapons), set in a world where humans (called Easterners) are second class citizens.  Vlad plays the part of the hard-boiled hero very well, with lots of wise-cracks and bravado.  And just like many of the heroes in the modern fantasy mystery series (Mr. Dresden comes to mind), it is often his friends who manage to save his bacon. 

The Chronicles of Amber are roughly 40 years old,  but are very similar to modern Urban Fantasy.  The idea is that this world, and every other world in the universe is just a Shadow of the true reality, called Amber.  The royal family of Amber can travel to these shadows by slowly changing their surroundings to what they want them to be, stopping once they reach a world that matches what they want.  The timeframe is modern, with many of them stopping at Earth in roughly the 1970's.  The series is written in two, five-book arcs, with a different main character for each arc.  These are classic fantasy books, and have been reprinted many many times, and with many book club editions. 

Good luck finding books you want to read.  Don't just do what I did and grap a bunch of generic books just to use up your credits.  And speaking of that, if anyone is looking for some generic fantasy books without a lot of merit, check out my bookshelf; many of them are still there, languishing away : )

for spelling, random capitalization, and excessive use of quotation marks

I'll take a stab at books, although whether or not you will see them on the other site ... who knows! (You seem to have listed mostly magic books, so I am going to stick more or less with that)

Trudi Canavan - the black magician trilogy in particular
Anne Bishop - Black Jewels
Katherine Kurtz - Deryni novels
Marion Zimmer Bradley - Darkover series. psychic powers, might as well be magic
I think you might like Rob Thurman (Cal & Nic Leandros series) (based on the fact that you seem to have listed a lot of series with male main characters ... plus magic). although those are newish, and going into urban paranormal rather than straight fantasy
I also think you might like John Levitt (Dog Days series) although they are also newer.

You might try the following. They mostly fall in the Urban Fantasy realm like Dresden Files and Anita Blake humptress of the night books:

Ilona Andrews' Kate Daniels series (urban fantasy featuring a magic using mercenary set in an alternate Atlanta)

Karen Chance's Cassandra Palmer series (follow a precog in an alternate Vegas)

Kim Harrison's the Hollows series (follow a witch runner in alternate Cinncinati)

Kelley Armstrong Women of the Otherworld (follow multiple interconnected characters)

Devon Monk's Allie Beckstrom series (follow 'Hound' in an alternate Portland)

Anita Blake humptress -

Very appropriate, she really became the public restroom of the supe community in that series,  ...everyone goes there to make a deposit!

Step out of your comfort zone a bit and read the Dune series. It is to Sci-Fi what LotR is to Fantasy. Maore adult though.

For adult fantasy ready George RR Martin. Awesome.

Jiles -

Thanks for the recommendations.  I have recently gotten some of both in ebook, but with the end of the semester wrapping up, I haven't gotten around to reading anything lately.  I am trying to see why I don't seem to like sci-fi as much in books as I do in visual media. 

Actually, as an update to the point of the thread, I ended up using a few credits for some of the recommendations, and some for health related topics.