Two epic fantasy series- GRRM’s Song of Ice and Fire, and Erikson’s Malzaan Book of the Fallen. Okay, the latter was sort of an anti-recommendation, but the people defending it convinced me.
Probably a lot of others, but those are the two that come to mind.
Lotsa books – English Passengers (recommended by Twickster!), Elleander Morning, The Brothers K, Flanders, Cloud Atlas, The Gone-Away World ($16 at Amazon, Shoeless), The Tenants of Moonbloom – others I’m forgetting.
Lotsa movies – In Bruges, in particular.
And too many recipes to mention.
Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea
In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex
A Tale of Two Cities
There may be others, but my memory is shot.
Somebody recommended Blossom Dearie, who I had never heard of.
Poe’s Haunted (thanks infinitii!)
Sarah Fimm (thanks Aesiron!)
I’m a huge sci-fi/fantasy nerd so I’ll often pick up (or mark in Goodreads, which I use to keep track of want-to-read lists) some of the books people are reading in “Whatcha Readin’” or the recommendation threads. There have been many over the years, but the most recent ones were Patrick Rothfuss’s “The Name of the Wind,” which I passed on to my friend/doper who visited me this weekend.
Alternatively, I’ll sometimes come across a book or movie before it’s recommended here but I’ll always run a thread search to see what dopers think of it-Sunshine by Robin McKinley was a recent example. Hyperion was another.
The band Gogol Bordello. My god. Amazing.
I started watching Firefly because everyone here seems to like it. I’ve also gotten more songs than I can remember from various song threads, which have led to my love of The Sounds and Sufjan Stevens.
In the first (I think) thread asking for favourite YouTube clips, somebody posted a link to clips from QI. I was instantly hooked. It is now my favourite show on TV.
I got into Neko Case after reading several Dopers rave about her last album* Fox Confessor Brings The Flood* in one of those “What are you listening to now?” threads. I was hooked, and have become a huge fan. I’ve been trying to return the favour by mentioning her new album Middle Cyclone anywhere I can.
Too much to list, but the one standing out right now is Cashback. I would never have seen that film if not for this place, and I loved it.
As a metalhead, my musical taste usually doesn’t intersect with those of most other users here, but when metal-themed threads do appear the recommendations are usually quite good. I hadn’t heard of Orphaned Land until ultrafilter brought them up a long time ago, and a post by Tentacle Monster is what first turned me on to Finntroll, which in turn led to my discovery of other excellent Finnish folk metal bands (Moonsorrow, Korpiklaani, and Ensiferum in particular), and I’ve become a huge fan of the genre in general.
I’ll second Replay. It’s an amazing book.
Also, Lamb, by Christopher Moore.
So I take it we haven’t yet seen the band Kultur Shock?..
Me, too! I’m just finishing up ‘The Good War’ by Studs Terkel, to which I was led by a thread on World War Z.
I discovered The Order of the Stick via a link here to Elan’s speech before Azure City was attacked, went back to the beginning and read all the strips through, ordered all the books, and got my 12-year-old son sucked into it, too, so that we each check for a new strip every day or so and alert the other when one is posted.
A Song of Ice and Fire for me too.
Also, HBO’s Rome and the movie Stardust.
I know I heard about QI on the dope and absolutely loved it though as someone on the wrong side of the Atlantic I must take advantage of certain… let’s say very rapid importers of video.
(I have bought the books, at least, so they’re getting some money from me.)
Fido. Somehow a film buff like me had not even heard of it, and I have since seen it many times, and have recommended it even to strangers.
Veronica Mars and Deadwood.
TV
I would have never watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer if it wasn’t for the Dope. That title is what stops most people from watching the show. Every time I try to recommend the show I have to struggle to get people past its title.
There is also Deadwood, Rome, The Shield (see signature), The Wire, Rome, etc… I actually pick my shows based on what I hear from the Dope.
Movies
I started a thread on Zombie and Hitman movies. I got a lot of good recommendations from those.