Film:
1. Good Will Hunting (Not the coolest film undoubtedly, but beautifully written, brilliant dialogue, great performances and Elliott Smith on the soundtrack makes it hard to beat)
2. The Wicker Man (Still has the ability to chill, even after all these years (and pointless re-releases) - It's just so brilliantly odd and has one of the greatest 'non cop-out' ending in cinema history
3. Sunset Boulevard (Watching films from the era of great film noir makes you realise how lazy much of today's film dialogue is - Back in the 40's and 50's, the classic films didn't waste a word - ever line has a snap to it)
TV:
1. The Simpsons (Yep, it's lost some of it's fizz, and the movie wasn't very good - but when it was good, it was brilliant. Many a depressing day has been lifted with a couple of Simpsons episodes, and the run from Seasons 4-8 is the most consistent run of brilliant TV writing in history
2. The Wire (Only recently jumped onto the Wire bandwagon, but made me realise how foolish i'd been to wait this long -Compulsive, gripping, intelligent TV, this show should be the blueprint for how to make TV drama.
3. Mad Men (Always seems to get overlooked in terms of receiving plaudits (especially in the UK), but this is intelligent, charming, sexy, funny and addictive viewing. Don Draper is probably the greatest Hero/Anti-hero in modern TV.
Games:
1. Final Fantasy VII (The fact that it's been at least 10 years since I played this, but it's still my greatest game shows the power it had when released. The first time I can remember being involved and enraptured with the storyline of a videogame, it had the ability to make you cry, laugh, smash your controller into bits when you couldn't get a gold Chocobo - It's still the greatest game of all time)
2. Red Dead Redemption (Another beautifully crafted storyline, wonderful open-world to explore, believable characters - a great game to get lost in)
3. Fallout 3 (Yep there's bugs in it, but not enough to detract him this wonderfully dark romp through post apocalyptic America)
Albums:
1. Manic Street Preachers - The Holy Bible (Everything the Manics have done since this has probably weakened the appeal of this album to non-believers, but this is the greatest album of all time. The ballsiest album ever as well (Just read those lyrics)
2. Magnetic Fields - 69 Love Songs (How is the best album calculated? Is it in the format of the album, 45 minutes of perfect music? Or is it the record that contains the largest number of great songs? If it's the latter, then 69 Love Songs is the greatest album of all time. At least 30 of these are great, another 30 good, and maybe 10 throwaway.
3. R.E.M - Automatic for the People (I always felt R.E.M were patchy when it came to albums - then Automatic came out. Apart from Star Me Kitten, it's a pretty flawless set of dark orchestral pop - Any album with Everybody Hurts, Nightswimming and Find the River deserves great recognition.
Books:
1. Mark Z Danielewski - House of Leaves (I've no idea how Danielewski started to write this book. It's one of a kind format adds to the uncomfortableness of the read, shame he went up his arse after this)
2. James Robert Baker - Boy Wonder (Quite simply, the greatest book nobody has ever read - You owe it to yourself to hunt this down)
3. Stephen King - The Stand (It was a straight race between this and The Road by Cormac McCarthy, but this has stood the test of time so wins out. A huge epic tale that has inspired much of post-apocalyptic literature ever since.
