Speaking of SciFi fantasy, Orson Scott Card is my favorite author. Fell in love with Ender Game series and anything Ender related. That got me hooked with the rest of his other books
Would also suggest:
Steven Erickson’s Book of the Fallen series
Glen Cook’s Black Company books… first half dozen, anyway.
And I’ll recommend Leiber again. A container ship would barely float all the fantasy I’ve read and almost all the authors would have had to stood on a stool to kiss his butt.
Anything by Octavia Butler, awarded the Hugo, Nebula, and a MacArthur before her untimely death in 2006.
The Xenogenesis trilogy is my favorite. The Parable series is timely.
also, the MaddAddam trilogy, Margaret Atwood.
My sons loved all the above, in addition to other authors mentioned in this thread.
The Broken Earth trilogy from N. K. Jemisin
Sabaa Tahir’s Ember series (technically YA but not really)
Jo Walton is an excellent and very varied fantasy writer. Everything from dragons (Tooth and Claw) to WWII AU (Farthing trilogy) to Greek Gods and philosophers (Thessaly series), but all really well written and excellent characterisation.
Guy Gavriel Kay - beautiful writing.
Kate Elliott is very good.
Terry Pratchett for a comic twist.
Ben Aaronovitch and Benedict Jacka for magic-focussed urban fantasy.
I presume he’s read Tolkien.
I really enjoyed Elizabeth Moon’s series The Deed of Paksenarrion. I’ve read it several times.
I liked the first three The Deed of Paksenarrion books, but thought the reboot of the series was boring. OTOH, I’ve really enjoyed all her sci-fi books. And her one stand-alone (very different) The Speed of Dark is brilliant - sort of a twist on Flowers for Algernon.
Guy Gavriel Kay writes beautifully, but I got tired of sado-masochistic sex scenes and stopped reading him.
I’d second the fabulous NK Jemisin books, and add anything by Paolo Bacigalupi. The new book Black Leopard Red Wolf is getting rave reviews, but I have not read it myself, yet. Kim Stanley Robinsons New York 2140 isn’t exactly fantasy but it’s awfully good and timely.
I’m fond of a mystery/detective/dystopian trilogy that starts with The Last Policeman – a meteor is coming to crash into Earth, and the premise is not how to stop it, but how to carry on to the end.
Not quite fantasy, because he does alternate explanations for what’s mainstream belief, but…
Tim Powers: Drawing of the Dark, Anubis Gates, Stress of Her Regard. And Declare.
Wish I could read them all again, but fresh.