Couldn’t agree more :–)
The Gate series was good too.
@frank_lima I tried to read enders shadow, I guess it was from Beans perspective, and what I didn’t care for was it made ender seem less important than he was initially in Enders game. why the hell would he do that? that first book was great. Its like how Douglas Adams was never really happy with his stories so he just kept changing them with each iteration.
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Ender’s Game is the single most influential book in my life, I reread it every year or two.
As I have reread Ender’s Game and the sequels, Ender has become less import to the story for me. Colonel Graff more than anyone has begun taking center stage for me. Graff is the puppet master, the force of will, driving the events that Ender experiences. Ender is many ways is just what Graff makes him.
Bean on the other hand has a lot more agency, he is more aware of how, who and why he is being manipulated. At the same time Bean lets Ender lead though Ender is Bean’s inferior in terms of tactical skill. Bean sees Ender a better leader.
Loved Seveneves great book. His new one Fall or Dodge in Hell was excellent as well. Reamde was good as well.
I liked the Cradle series by Will Wight by no means great literature but kept my mind occupied in the car for a couple of months.
Dune drooling over the new movie coming out this year
King killer chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss although I doubt he will ever finish the series
Three Body Trilogy Cixin Liu
The rage of dragons Evan Winters
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So many of my faves have already been mentioned. I’ll just add in my most recent sci-fi read.
Just read Exhalation by Ted Chiang.(http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41160292-exhalation ) It’s a book of short stories and while a few of them have been previously published, the collection as a whole was stellar. Will be thinking about many of them for a while.
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There’s some really good recommendations here and @BarkingChicken’s list is basically my list but I’ll throw another one out: Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishigoro is fantastic, although fair warning it only barely qualifies as sci-fi.
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Totally forgot to add The Expanse series. I’m gonna be that guy and say I loved this series before the show came out.
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Here is the list of Hugo and Nebula Award winners (and nominees).
I’ve read almost all the winners and some of the nominees. Never been disappointed!
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Having a Hugo used to mean a lot.
Like everything else these days, they’ve become far too political.
I no longer trust them.
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Somewhat more to my tastes:
On my personal list:
Almost everything Larry Niven has written. ( The novella “Borderland of Sol” being my favorite. )
Greg Benford: Eater and Cosm.
Charles Stross: Singularity Sky and Iron Sunrise. Merchant Princes series, and the Laundry series are not hard SF, but worth a read.
John Ringo's Altadena series. And the series that starts with Live Free or Die. And pretty much everything else he's written.
Larry Corriea’s Monster Hunter International series. ( more fantasy than SF. )
Second on Martha Wells’ “Murderbot” series.
And the Bobbiverse.
The Helmsman series.
The Kris Longknife series.
( Those more space opera. )
I like most of what Larry Niven collaborated with Jerry Pournelle on. “The Legacy of Heorot” series, “The Mote” series and " Lucifer’s Hammer" is a good stand alone book.
Jerry Pournelle is more of a military oriented Sci-Fi author but he works well with Larry Niven.
Russell Ward
I read a LOT of mil-sf, but never really liked Pournelle’s stuff, even when he teamed with Niven. Other than Speaker, I never really liked the Kzin.
I’m currently reading the 4HU universe by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandry. ( Caution - 40 books and counting ). Very entertaining so far.
Tom Krautman’s Carreraverse is very good. As is Michael Z Williamson’s Freehold series.
The Honor Harrington series is good, but wow there a LOT of detailed specs on every single weapons system. David Weber has a habit of that. In print and in person.
John Ringo’s Black Tide Rising is mil oriented, but a Zombie Apocalypse Story. The only one of which I will recommend. I’m sick of zombie stories. This series is not like the others though. It’s about what to do after the ZA to rebuild. Mike Massa has written some in this universe as well. Former Navy Seal. Writes very well.
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I preferred Jerry’s books when he had someone else helping him write them.
Jerry was an army officer in Korea and has a belief system for military organizations that I find appealing. He also has an interesting personal history that colors my opinion of him personally. He was one of the 3 or 4 people the developed the concept of “Star Wars” for Ronald Regan.
He wrote the Chaos Manor column in Byte Magazine and he wrote the first novel on a computer. That computer is in the Smithsonian Museum.
So my interest in him is less about his novels and more about him. Although there were some of his books that I enjoyed
Russell Ward
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Walter Anderson got me hooked on his books. Bun Bun Lives!
Ka SNICK!!! 
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I concur with many of those mentioned, but can’t believe no one has suggested Hugh Howey’s Wool and the Silo series.
NikeMikey
You mentioned Bradbury, but his book The Martian Chronicles deserves a special shout-out.
And I think sci-fi is a setting for a story, not a type of story. It’s like saying “historical.” It doesn’t tell you anything about the story’s nature (e.g., adventure, romance, comedy).
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that’s 2 books down the list for me per your recommendation.
also, not Sci Fi, but Aether Punk/Portal Fantasy, Ashes of Onyx by Seth Skorkowsky just came out and was fantastic.
Edit: @dwolf, good point, Seth was a Hugo Nominee a few years ago for another of his books Damoren, also excellent.
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oh yeah! one I forgot to mention but go back to from time to time is The Martian by Andy Weir. the movie is pretty faithful, but there is a lot of extra stuff in the book. for that “realistic” sci-fi hit. Weir’s second book Artemis is pretty alright too, if you like his very technical style.
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