Recommend some sci-fi authors

[pocaracas]

Thank you for the recommendations.

I am probably going to read something by Asimov. I have always wanted to read his works, but I never got around to it. I figure I will start with Nightfall and the Foundation series.

Asimov's foundation series is great!
Set in the same universe, you have his Robot series, too.

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The Poloish guy: Stanisław Lem.
I only read Solaris, but I hear that he keeps the theme throughout his other works.

Hey, hey ... he's a great writer, so please, not "Poloish" ... but Polish guy 😜
Yeah, yeah ... I know everything because of the keyboard😛
But I agree that you should read something written by Stanisław Lem.... don't watch ...read!!!

What are you taking about...poloish?!

[brewer]

This guy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_José_Farmer

[Foxaèr]

Asimov's foundation series is great!

Hmmm, Asimov recommends reading the books in chronological order despite the publication order while some readers recommend the publication order.

The chronological order is:
Prelude to Foundation
Forward the Foundation
Foundation
Foundation and Empire
Second Foundation
Foundation's Edge
Foundation and Earth

The publication order is:
Foundation (1951)
Foundation and Empire (1952)
Second Foundation (1953)
Foundation's Edge (1982)
Foundation and Earth (1986)
Prelude to Foundation (1988)
Forward the Foundation (1993)

Which should I do?

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I think I will go with publication order.

[pocaracas]

I think I will go with publication order.

I went with publication order, too.
That way, you get properly introduced to the concepts and the other books are easier to follow.

[Ravenshire]

C. J. Cherryh. Especially her Chanur or her Faded Sun series, but really most anything she's written. It's all good.

[KittyAnn]

Hey, hey ... he's a great writer, so please, not "Poloish" ... but Polish guy 😜
Yeah, yeah ... I know everything because of the keyboard😛
But I agree that you should read something written by Stanisław Lem.... don't watch ...read!!!

What are you taking about...poloish?!

... about Stanisław Lem and his "Robot's tales"

[GUBU]

I am somewhat tired of reading fantasy and crime.  If you know of any good science fiction writers, please mention them here.

I read the first chapter of Alastair Reynolds' The Prefect, and it is rather entertaining.

Older sci-fi Alfred Bester (as played by Walter Koenig on Babylon 5) had two amazing novels in The Stars my Destination (original title Tiger, Tiger) and The Demolished Man. The Stars my Destination essentially created most of cyberpunk's tropes 30 years before cyberpunk. But if you're going old school you've to pick up the two granddaddies of them all, H G Wells and Olaf Stapledon (who's probably given the most accurate picture of a possible god I've ever seen in fiction).

While you're at it, pick up Ursula le Guin, who only recently died. Her Ansible series of books is amazing. Then go onto EE "Doc" Smith the creator of the Lensman series. After that you've got the likes of Ray Bradbury, the Strugatsky brothers (their Roadside Picnic being the most influential), Philip K Dick, William Tenn, Cordwainer Smith, Arthur C Clarke and many many more I've enjoyed over the years.

Of modern sci-fi there are tons of good authors, just pick up a book and see what you like.

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L Ron Hubbard

I kind of avoid him, you know, because of the whole Scientology thing.....

He's also a shit writer, safe to ignore.

Edit: Forgot Harry Harrison, Gordon R Dickson and Robert Silverberg (who is also a very accomplished historian).

[Succubus]

Thank you for the recommendations.  

I am probably going to read something by Asimov.  I have always wanted to read his works, but I never got around to it.  I figure I will start with Nightfall and the Foundation series.

Nightfall is a must but make sure you read the original short story not the extended version with Robert Silverberg. To this day I'm baffled as to why Asimov allowed that to be published.
As mentioned, Harlan Ellison's short stories can be a bit weird. 'I Have No Mouth And I must Scream'. Read it if you dare!

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Zelazny, The Great Book of Amber!

John Varley, the Gaea Trilogy.

Jack L. Chalker, the Well of Souls books and the Quintara Marathon quad.

Alan Dean Foster, the Humanx Alamagation universe, especially the Pip and Flinx series (16 books)

Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, The Mote in God's Eye and The Gripping Hand. Niven's Ringworld books are epic.

Robert Anson Heinlein, for "All You Zombies" and A Stranger in a Strange Land and Starship Troopers.

[Ravenshire]

Here's the Science Fiction page of Fantastic Fiction. If you can't find good stuff to read here, you're just not trying.  

Each author has their own page listing all their works, including pseudonyms. Be very careful of two sections at the bottom of each author page though. They are rabbit holes down which you can get lost for days, weeks, months, years... Some who failed to resist the siren song of these two sections have been lost to us forever. 

"Author" recommends:
A list, sometimes short, sometimes quite long, of books recommended by the author who's page you happen to be on.

Visitors to this page also looked at these authors:
A list of typically 10 to 20 authors who write similar types of stories.

I've found many, many good new (or, at least, new to me) books and/or authors chasing links in those sections.

Goodreads.com is great source for getting reviews of books and they have some tools there for setting up book lists and tracking reads.

Then there's The Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Sci-fi and fantasy only, but if you ever have the burning need to find every single word an author has ever published, in every medium, in every edition, this is the site you need. Also, a great place for finding original publication dates (very useful for labeling books so they list the same no matter what OS or program you're using).