Very interesting topic. I know of some of the writers mentioned but some I've not heard of. I pretty much grew up on Tolkien, so I compare everyone else to his works, often unfairly I admit.
I also like Terry Goodkind. His Sword of Truth series does have an annoying habit of enormous plot build up, and then wrapping everything up in the final chapter. But the world he's created is very interesting.
I also enjoy Cecilia Dart-Thornton. I've only read two books, and honestly don't know if she has more but they were both very good.
And even though he didn't write fantasy per se, Richard Adams is one of my favorite authors as well. Shardik is probably the closest to fantasy, though Watership Down does have a lot of rabbit mythology in it.
So there's my two cents worth.
Re: OT: good fantasy books
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