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[Inanimate]

I've decided to dedicate an entire shelf in my room to board games! The problem is... I need some board games to fill it up with, as I only own a few right now, despite the fact that I love board games.

So, TIGers! Throw me your recommendations! Here's what I own so far:

Hex Hex XL -- A great game, super fun! Quick learning curve, quick gameplay. Super great!
Dominion -- A modern-day classic, it's actually just as fun as people say it is.
Scrabble -- Of course! No game collection is complete without it.
Apples to Apples -- Likewise with this.
Connect 4 -- A relic of my childhood, just as good as it was then.
Uno -- A classic card game.
Phase 10 -- And likewise.

Wish-list:

Risk -- A classic I am surprised I don't own already.
Bang! -- A more action-packed Mafia-style game, based on Wild West? Sold!
Munchkin -- I've played this at my friend's place, and it's great. Love every second of it.
Mag-Blast -- Jared recommends this, and I trust his taste in games!
D&D: Castle Ravenloft/Wrath of Ashardlon -- Heard good things about this, and from what Sinclair showed me, Ravenloft was cool!
Arkham Horror -- Sounds really fun! I like the stat system from what I've read.

Things I want more info on:
Summoner Wars -- It sounds interesting enough! Any of you guys know more about it?
Mage Wars -- This also sounds interesting, but again, I don't know a lot about it.

Do you guys have any suggestions? Any personal favorites that are obscure and under-the-radar?

[Radix]

Pandemic is great, and is one of the most fantastic examples of perfect balance made to seem effortless.

You should probably get Settlers of Catan just for completeness. It's great at first although it does wear out eventually, but it's a pretty good way to get people into better games (ie European-style stuff when they're used to shit like Monopoly).

For the same reason, Ticket to Ride is good to have around especially if you've ever got younger players who you want to introduce to Good boardgames.

Risk is garbage, but it's garbage that's easy to get other people to play so it's fine and the little dudes are cool to have for other things. Good when you're planning on sitting around for four hours having a conversation rather than playing anything especially demanding.

Munchkin is only fun when everyone's drinking, but Bang! is great, make it a priority! Citadels is another fun card game.

I don't personally enjoy Agricola or Carcassone much, and I haven't played Puerto Rico properly yet, but they all have big followings and someone's bound to suggest them so look into those I guess?

I'm sure more will come to me.

edit: like Caylus and motherfucking SPACE HULK.

[Inanimate]

Thanks for the suggestions! I've heard of Pandemic, and I'm glad to hear it's good. I'll throw it on the list!

Yeah, Risk is mainly just a part of collecting board games. I do like the game, but I agree with your sentiments. I usually play with house rules to make it go a wee bit faster.

Ticket to Ride seems very popular, I've been hearing a lot about it. Same with Settlers of Catan -- can't believe I forgot that!

I have tried Carcassone, it was neat enough. Might get it.

I have never heard of Citadels! Thanks! 

[Fallsburg]

Let's see:

Pandemic/Forbidden Island: Two of my faves.  They are player vs. the game types, so everyone is working together.  Each player is a different class that gives them special abilities and you work to either cure the world of diseases (Pandemic) or capture treasure from a sinking island (Forbidden Island).  Pandemic is probably the better of the two, but Forbidden Island is a lot less intimidating for new players, so it depends on who you would be playing with.

Carcasonne: You place tiles on a map, and then claim territory.  When tiles run out, the player with the highest score wins.  It is very quick to learn, but strategy is very tricky.

Cosmic Encounter: Risk-like, but oh so much better. Players are different alien races that each have special abilities.  You draw a card that says who you have to attack, send ships in to attack/capture planets.  Then the fun starts.  Both attacker and defender can ask for allies to help them, with rewards for both.  Then the attacker and defender play cards that modify how their ships attack.  The first player to take N planets wins (forget the number).

EDIT: WOO Pandemic love.

EDIT 2:
Forgot my favorite party game of all time:

Wits and Wagers: The perfect combination of trivia and gambling.  First a question is asked that has a number answer, like "How large is Alaska in square miles?"  Everyone writes down an answer.  You then lay down the answers in ascending order on the board. 
Odds go like this:
 5:1 | 4:1 | 3:1 | 2:1 | 3:1 | 4:1 | 5:1 | 6:1
High -------------------------->Low   Lower than lowest

People then wager on which one they think is most likely, with Price is Right rules (Closest answer that doesn't go over wins).

[Radix]

Pandemic/Forbidden Island: Two of my faves.  They are player vs. the game types, so everyone is working together.  Each player is a different class that gives them special abilities and you work to either cure the world of diseases (Pandemic) or capture treasure from a sinking island (Forbidden Island).  Pandemic is probably the better of the two, but Forbidden Island is a lot less intimidating for new players, so it depends on who you would be playing with.

Shadows Over Camelot is another one of these that's pretty cool. There's a bit of a learning curve though, with it eventually feeling kind of video gamey in that it's like a multiplayer game where everyone is expected to know what they're doing and go off and pull their weight. One player might be a traitor so there's a bit of mafia/werewolf thrown in which is neat, and a rule about maintaining ye olde light roleplay which is weird.

[Inanimate]

Wits and Wagers sounds amazing. Definitely on the list.
Cosmic Encounter might just replace Risk! Sounds cool from what you described.

[Nillo]

I love Agricola and I wish I had the opportunity to play it more often. I really only know a handful of other gamers in real life so I would have to actively seek out people who like board games to be able to regularly play these things.

I've heard good things about Dominion so I kind of want to try that as well, and I also want to play Arkham Horror at least once because it seems like a really fascinating experience regardless of how it works mechanically speaking.

I don't like Carcassonne much. In my experience it's extremely luck-based, so you can be really close to completing a huge-ass city and then get crappy tiles a dozen times in a row and just lose because of it.

[Liosan]

Smallworld! Really simple and in-depth strategy ;-)

Jaipur rocks as a simple game for two people, it's easy to hook a non-gamer for a 30-minute match.

Munchkin is fun if you don't play against someone who knows all the cards, and if everyone enjoys the whacky theme, and if you don't mind the overly complex but not so fluent card interactions (not the mechanics, the mechanics are nice and simple). I get tired with it fast, I'm not a big fan. Bang! is much better.

Arkham Horror is cool but a bit of a long one, with 1-2 players getting most of the action and the other folks just tidying up after them.

Puerto Rico rocks :-)

Liosan

[Inanimate]

Oh, and Fluxx! I've heard so many good things about it, and it sounds like my kind of game. 

[Radix]

Fluxx is the worst, you're better off with Uno.

[Inanimate]

Hm! Care elaborating?

[C.A. Sinner]

Lord of the Rings Board Game by Reiner Knizia: Still one of the best Co-op boardgames. Gets super intense late game and succeeds at evoking a Tolkienesque vibe, esp if you're playing with the "Friends & Foes" expansion.

Lord of the Rings Living Card Game: Another LotR themed co-op game, balls to the wall hard and a marvel of clever design. High quality card art too. This is a sort of CCG (except there aren't any booster packs, just a lot of small fixed expansions) so there are huge amounts of content available. I haven't even tried half the scenarios I own.

Earth Reborn: A love letter to 90s Ameritrash tactical miniature wargames. Mechanics are complex as shit (but relatively easy to learn thanks to a scenafio book structured like a tutorial) and feature some neat eurogame-like touches such as action tokens. Lots of stuff in the box.

Rivals for Catan: I prefer this card-based spinoff over the main Settlers of Catan game. One of my favorite city builders. You have to have a a taste for slow-paced games and relatively indirect competition though.

[fraxcell]

Bang! -- A more action-packed Mafia-style game, based on Wild West? Sold!

Thanks for reminding me of this, played it at a party a while ago and couldn't remember what is was called.

Smallworld! Really simple and in-depth strategy ;-)

This is definitely one of my favorites. Great balance between being tactical and enjoyable without getting overly complicated.

[cskau]

Oh man I can't believe nobody has recommended Axis & Allies!
This is a great game even if it's going to consume hours and hours of your life for just a single game. This is basically advanced Risk - and you know how long a game of Risk can run.

Also second votes for Smallworld and Munchkin - both great games.

[Alec S.]

Go -  The classic Chinese strategy game.  One of the most elegantly designed games of all time (simpler than chess, but possibly even deeper)

Cash and Guns - Bank robbers get in a series of mexican standoffs to decide how to split their ill gotten gain.  Comes with foam guns for maximum John Woo style pointing guns at people action.

Cards against Humanity - If your Apples to Apples games always seem to descend into dark humor and sex jokes, but you wised the cards mirrored that, this is the game for you.  Came out of a successful kickstarter project.

I'll probably come back with a few more later...