My favorites, across genres. Not in any particular order.
Anime
Steins;Gate - the psychological horrors of time travel; starts off slow
Hunter x Hunter - the best shōnen, next to Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Angel Beats! - will make you cry and laugh
Haikyuu!! - sports anime about volleyball, also Kuroko no Basket
Bleach - not actually great but good for nostalgia
Your Lie in April - about piano and violin, between rigidity and free-spirit musicality
For their unique or phenomenal animation:
Fate/stay night: Unlimited Blade Works; Konosuba; Made in Abyss; Mob Psycho 100; Parasyte - the maxim -; Himouto! Umaru-Chan; One Punch Man; Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic
Artists
Alex Niño - particularly toward his work during the pre-production of Mulan, I deeply admire his stylized approach to comics
Edward Hopper - well-celebrated, with multitudes of philosophical interpretations of each painting
Jean-Michel Basquiat - a political and cultural perspective through graffiti
Kim Jung Gi - a man with a heart, outlook, and humility as profound as his talent
Qian Qian Ye - an abstract take on the ordinary, awkward, and lonely; also a very thoughtful designer
For the Instagrammers:
@kelogsloops, @chrisglibart, @zhifangs, @maloart, @leekillust, @henrikaau, @milesart, @hillkurtz, @toddhido_
My talented friends: @3fargone, @art_awu
Games
Bioshock - one of my favorite franchises about an enchanting but corrupt underwater city called Rapture full of Splicers, Little Sisters, and Big Daddies
Heavy Rain - an emotional adventure surrounding the mystery of the Origami Killer
Inside - a psychological platformer that invokes a provoking and disturbing dystopia of Nazi-like control
The Last of Us - action survival horror game with a terrific relationship between the main characters
What I play now:
League of Legends - a classic. Add me: Golly
Super Smash Bros. - a classic
General recommendations:
Uncharted franchise (adventure, treasure hunting), Runescape (nostalgia), Warframe (space ninja MMORPG), Hearthstone (card game), Diablo III (dungeon crawler RPG), The Walking Dead (Season 1 has a great story)
K-Dramas
Thank you to Adel Wu for recommending: @art_awu.
Signal - time travel, cold case mysteries
More someday
Movies
I love biographics! i.e. The Founder, 12 Years A Slave, Spotlight, etc. Horror is also a guilty pleasure.
Coraline - childhood favorite; a horror tale spun with stop-motion
Koe no Katachi - a childhood bully seeks redemption with a deaf girl
Guardians of the Galaxy - favorite out of the MCU
WALL-E - favorite Disney/Pixar for its message even in 2008
Casino Royale - favorite out of the spy genre like Bourne, MI, etc.
Studio Ghibli - almost all their movies are amazing. Love Marvel/DC too.
Music
Big section. Look up Dimash Kudaibergenov for, in my opinion, the best singer I’ve heard.
Instrumental
Probably my favorite songs.
Merry Go Round of Life - Howl’s Moving Castle
The Name of Life - Spirited Away
Frank Ocean - Be Yourself
Clair de lune - Claude Debussy
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 - Frédéric Chopin
Turkish March - Arcadi Volodos
Strobe - deadmau5
Opus - Eric Prydz
Letter from Yokosuka - Nujabes
Hip-Hop/Rap
Moon River, Self Control, Pyramids, and Nights - Frank Ocean (or the entire Blonde album)
Same Drugs, Chain Smoker, Smoke Again, Favorite Song - Chance the Rapper
Ultralight Beam, I Wonder, Only One, Monster, and Champion - Kanye West
Make It Better, The Bird, Come Down - Anderson .Paak
Do Not Disturb, Madiba Riddim, and Own It - Drake
DNA., i, King Kunta, Poetic Justice, ELEMENT. - Kendrick Lamar
1999 Wildfire, 2PAC, QUEER, GINGER - BROCKHAMPTON
Jaden also has good stuff. Russ some.
Nostalgia
I Want You Back - Jackson 5
Good Riddance - Green Day
Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Sinatra
Could You Be Loved - Bob Marley
Hey There Delilah - Plain White T’s
Hello Seattle - Owl City
New Light and Half of My Heart - John Mayer
Where Is The Love? - Black Eyed Peas
American Pie - Don McLean
Love Story - Taylor Swift
Moody
3:00 AM - Finding Hope
Woman and Warm on a Cold Night - Honne
Skin, Nico’s Red Truck - Dijon
i swear i’ll never leave again, summer - keshi
The A Team - Ed Sheeran
Die Trying - Michl
SUPERPOSITION, TOO DEEP TO TURN BACK - Daniel Caesar
Joji - his In Tongues album
Pop
Can’t Sleep Love - Pentatonix
Lay Me Down, Midnight Train - Sam Smith
Barcelona, Budapest - George Ezra
Love Yourself, Company - Justin Bieber
wish you were gay, ilomilo - Billie Eilish
all the kids are depressed, better off - Jeremy Zucker
The Morning, Acquainted - The Weeknd
Dilliwaali Girlfriend - Pritam Chakraborty
Badtameez Dil - Benny Dayal
Movie/Game/Show Soundtracks
One of my favorite genres for nostalgia.
The Winner Is - Devotchka (Little Miss Sunshine)
Living Mice - C418 (Minecraft)
lvs, lit(var) - Kensuke Ushio (Koe no Katachi)
Soundscape to Ardor, Always Be With Me in Mind - Shiro Sagisu (Bleach)
Nightcall, A Real Hero, Fantasy - Drive
The Shape of Water - Alexandre Desplat (Shape of Water)
Invincible - Aminé (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse)
Also Sunflower, Start a Riot, Memories, and Let Go, of course.
Married Life - Up
Dead Island Trailer Theme - Giles Lamb
Will the Circle Be Unbroken - Bioshock Infinite
Next to You - Parasyte (Kiseijuu)
西游记动画 - both intro and outro.
おうちに帰かえりたい - Kono Subarashii
三葉のテーマ - RADWIMPS (Your Name)
EDM
The Light - Ridvan (skip to 1:30)
Fade Into Darkness - Avicii
Weakness - Prismo
Faded, Working For It - ZHU
Something Good - JLV
Balenciaga - Cheat Codes
passionfruit, raingurl - Yaeji
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Main Theme - VGR
Check out Pogo too.
Lo-Fi
Early Thinkin - Hazy Year
Proud of You - A L E X
April Showers - Proleter
Scopophobia - HM Surf
Better Days - LAKEY INSPIRED
Evenings - Idealism
Elusive - Arbour
Chinese
北京欢迎你 - Summer Olympics 2008
因为爱情 - Eason Chan
青花瓷, 发如雪 - Jay Chou
斑马, 斑马 - Song Dongye
童话 - Michael Wong
我的新衣 - VaVa
天乾物燥, 虎山行 - GAI
二泉映月
K-Pop
Spring Day, Miss Right, Baepsae, The Truth Untold, MAMA, Love Myself, and Seesaw - BTS
Also Suga’s rap: Agust D
Sexy 4 Eva, Dank - Jay Park
No Make Up - Zion.T
Lonely - Kanto
We Are - Woo, Loco, GRAY
Palette and BBIBBI - IU
instagram - DEAN
Some, You(=I), and Travel - Bolbbalgan4
Indie
Foolsong, Goodie Bag - Still Woozy
Lover Boy, Long Gone - Phum Viphurit
Girls, Narcissist, TooTime, and Paris - The 1975
Yes I’m Changing, The Less I Know The Better - Tame Impala
Television / So Far So Good, Loving Is Easy, Best Friend - Rex Orange County
Dennis, Hazel - Roy Blair
Something Good Can Work, What You Know - Two Door Cinema Club
Gooey - Glass Animals
Malibu Nights - LANY (or anything by them)
Photographers
Alex Webb - colorful street photos, many taken in Latin America
Fan Ho - phenomenal B&W street photos of Hong Kong
Joel Meyerowitz - very colorful advocate for street photography
Robert Frank - B&W / historic take on American society
Philip-Lorca diCorcia - a brilliant constructor of photography, from lighting to narrative
For the Instagrammers:
@itsreuben, @sixstreetunder, @markwebber_, @joshkjack, @cvatik, @witchoria, @s.ilver
TV Series
Black Mirror - mainstream dystopian
Game of Thrones - before they ruined it
Sherlock - for our savior Benedict
Stranger Things - ‘80s-inspired thriller
Supernatural - classic demon-hunting
The Boys - pure unbridled superhero fun
Writers
Brian Jacques - for writing my favorite childhood book series, Redwall, next to Eragon
John Green - for his eclectic personality, both online and in his stories; thank you for saving me during AP cram sessions
Marina Keegan - one of my favorite student essayists for writing on poignant college discussions, though unfortunately passed away too early
Nicholas Kristof - one of my favorite journalists; his weekly columns in the NYT are a great read
YouTubers
Peaceful Cuisine - this man’s culinary aesthetic, also very talented at pottery and furniture
Watercolor by Shibasaki - Japanese Bob Ross
Daily Dose of Internet - memes
Great Big Story - get inspired
Strictly Dumpling - favorite food reviewer
CinemaSins - he’s funny
JunsKitchen - food and cats
You can probably tell at this point that I’m basic and very indecisive.