I can give you my top 5. They are in my collection.

Batman TDN, Playboy and Family Guy. Because all have neat toys/ mechanisms.

Have to add ACDC, then Metallica.
Number three? Tough call.
LOTR/Iron Man... but probably Spider-Man for me.

1A) TRON pro - beautiful looking game with an awesome theme with equally amazing gameplay.

1B) AC/DC Luci - Just fun getting my butt kicked over and over again. Steve Ritchie is the beezneez

3) IronMan - another adrenaline pumping title. So simple yet fantastic.

Honorable mention - Spiderman

Black Spidey coolest game ever.
LOTR deeeeeeeeeeep, should've never sold it!
Ripley's Lawlor, for the money, worth every penny!!

IM- One of the best games ever built imo, it has the one more game factor. Fast and unforgiving, it demands that you do it in one ball.
Brilliant game.

SM
LOTR

Both of these for the reasons you have already outlined.

My favorites:

AC/DC-
Great vibe and feel to this game. Fun callouts. Great flow and unique scoring. Love "The Bell"

Tron-
Fast, great tunes, love the lighting.

Star Trek -
Flow, flow, flow. Tons of modes. Integration of shaker is excellent. Great lighting effects and a bazillion callouts. A very satisfying game.

Honorable mention goes to Ironman

Spiderman, ACDC, and LOTR because they all have great game play. Also really like POTC, TSPP, and RBION.

ACDC number one Of all time . Pure fun!!
IM kicks as
Met flow and fun
LOTR deep!

TWD quickly becoming my most addictive

The Simpsons Pinball Party - The best Stern ever made~

Ripley's Believe It or Not! - Interesting theme and presentation with solid gameplay~

Tron LE - I just love the lights and sound package... so sue me~

1. LOTR - So deep. Playing this one is like going on an adventure!
2. Ironman - Pure adrenaline. Great shaker effects. Kicks your ass and makes you like it
3. Metallica - Awesome rule set. Great layout and ramps. Good music. Can be an ass kicker.

Honorable mention ACDC premo/LE

POTC toys galore, RBION just really fun to play, STLE boldly for action and beauty

I agree. Everyone here complains about st game play yet I wonder how many of those people can even progress through the current code. I know I can't, I play it and feel like it's a relatively complete game minus a few lights that don't have code. I'm glad I don't know better otherwise I would be on pinside crying about it.

Catacomb, because it has another game in the backbox

Star Trek Premium/LE
ACDC Premium/LE
Metallica Premium/LE

These are the ones I have the most fun playing. Pretty simple I know, but that is what it is.

LOTR
IM
SM

They run a wide spectrum.
LOTR - unmatched depth. (tspp excepted)
IM - unmatched franticness
SM - Somewhere in between

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Why? Because deep down inside I am a hillbilly redneck that likes motorsports.

AC/DC - Just love how the theme integrates into the game and it has one of the best rulesets out there. So many different ways to attack the game, so many things to do, so much balance with shots. Game I always find new ways to play and never get tired of.

Simpsons Party Pinball - I mainly love the theme but the rules are really deep and there is a ton of fun stuff to do. Just a great overall game that reminds me a lot of the great 90's B/W games.

Sopranos - Probably because I played it a ton in college at a bar but I really enjoy this game. Wasn't even a Sopranos fan but the theme works well and the game is perfect for casual enjoyment.

Honorable mention goes to RBION. Like a poor man's TZ with a lot of fun stuff to do.

IM

It's the best one, that's all that matters

easy

LOTR
TSPP
SM

Top 3 in order:

TRON: Gameplay is straightforward but tough, with the best skill shot in a very long time. Photoshop art is very appropriate for it. Audio and callouts are the best I've ever heard in a pinball game (TZ used to be my favorite). I work in Education and frequently the teachers will just drop their computers off with me and say "fix it", with no explanation. So I reply, "What do I with this?"

Metallica: Excellent game play, but the Dirty Donny art really makes it stand out. At my local venue there's a Tales from the Arabian Nights, which I think is a beautiful game, but always Metallica gets the looks. The audio integration is good but not quite at the level of TRON in getting you pumped up, even though the overall game play is much better. Not super deep but deep enough, tons of great shots, and very fun rules that rewards both precision and flow play.

Ironman: Excellent audio gets you pumped, but not as good as TRON. There's sort of an anti-90's Williams thing of "no safe shot", and it's more about recovery and reaction skills, like EMs. Turns are generally fast, even on good games, so it's a great group game with no one waiting too long.

Crap, I left out Metallica…… love that game, can't wait to own one someday when my sugar mama buys me one.

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Nailed it...SM is the best overall Stern game (if only the PF art was better it would be perfect).

IM is the best adrenaline rush - 1 more game - so close game

LOTR has the best rules and sound of any Stern game only hampered by clunky shots. Despite the clunk, the rules make up for it.

1. LoTR
2. STLE
3. FGY

1. BIBLE
2. Luci
3. ACDC Premium

(Do you see a pattern here !? )

Tron
Ripleys
Metallica or AC/DC depends on how the mood strikes me

But then again I could say that for the rest of my games.

1. LOTR
2. ACDC Prem/LE
3. TSPP

It's why I have them
Though, SM is maybe a close third..and am looking for one..wink wink

1st- LOTR- best Stern in every way, rules call outs music etc.... Hitting the ring is best Stern shot.

2nd- Sopranos - love the theme and the rules are deep and game is challenging . Call outs by the actual actors unlike TWD. Love the profanity and the bada-bing girls.

3rd- Tie-MET- Worst possible music but the gameplay and shots are great fun probably because it is a copy of one of the best games of all time- AFM.
SM- great flow and shots but call outs are a little weak.

Stargazer: gorgeous, fun and challenging to play. Excellent sound package too.
Nineball: there's a reason why there is a factory "Tournament pinball" sticker on the apron.
Quicksilver: The best bonus count down in pinball. Period!

LOTR
TRON LE
METALLICA

(but other games are awesome too)
IM
TF LE
XMEN LE
AC DC LUCY
SM

Top 3 (I'd buy 'em):
Star Trek - looptastic, ramptastic, and space noises always a plus
POTC - love the treasure hunt/map/exploration/sinking ship aspects
Big Buck Hunter (whaaaat?!?) - yep... simple goals & plays like a classic shooting gallery

Middle 3 (I'd drop some quarters):
LOTR - many shots & lots of goals but a bit too easy and repetitive "X hundred souls" thing... also too much computery low-res artwork
Metallica - way cool hand-drawn art & solid but tough gameplay
Transformers - good shots, not too claustrophobic, accessible rules
Honorable mentions: Wheel of Fortune & Monopoly for classic game themes and Shrek/Family Guy for mini-pinball

Bottom 3 (not my cuppa tea even casually):
AC/DC - I liked it a lot at first... but now I really, really, can't stand it. I never want to hear You Shook Me All Night Long again, ever. She built a pin machine, with a lotta bling, it was a big loud thumpin' goofy light machine. Lookin' down at the rules, didn't have no clue, didn't care about what I was supposed to do. Ball is drainin' left, then again on the right, I never kicked a game before but thinkin' I might. And the game keeps blastin', that same old anthem, and I... never want... to... play... this... game... again.
Rolling Stones - Mick... so unfortunate are those screws and so many blocked shots
X-Men - looks more Walmart toy than game or art & dislike plunge-straight-to-drain aspect

Overall, I like Stern games.

LOTR
SM
XMEN LE

LOTR
SPIDEY
POTC
4- tfle
5- nascar
6) bdk
7) AP
8) AC DC Premium
9) tron
10) FG
etc
etc
etc

(Who can stop at 3)?

1) Lord of the Rings- excellent theme; the music's great, the callouts are better; wide variety of modes means several choices of strategy; plenty to do for good players; still has lots of shots that are easy enough for non-pinheads to hit, as well as easy-to-understand objectives.

2) Daylight

3) Iron Maiden- Can't really remember much about the rules etc, but had quite a few games on it at the Sydney Pinball Expo, and had a lot of fun playing it. Unique layout and nice artwork.

Really haven't been too impressed with Stern's recent efforts.

I really enjoy TSPP more than I should, based on what I normally like about pingames.
I've liked playing Spiderman Every time I've ever got the chance.
I really like the flow and feel of Austin Powers too. It shocked me how good it was. I'd probably like to own one some day.

I own a Metallica, but I'm not bonding with it. I like the art, the look, the shots and the flow and I understand the rules, but it feels like making it a bash-happy center shot game is the only way to score well on it. It's got until spring to make an impact on me, or it's moving down the road.

1. LOTR - Visually stunning, amazing flow, full featured, one of the greatest rule sets of any pin, Great to mod, Top notch sound, one of the best theme integrations ever.
2. ACDC - A+++ music and sound, the bell is the best bash toy in pinball, rules give this game more lasting power than any other pin......so many ways to play, fun to mod....including changing song's, lighting is stunning, full featured.
3. Metallica - See ACDC minus the bell. Rock pins are here to stay!

I have not played quicksilver yet, but i find it hard to believe it gets better than Big Game when you get the reserve bonus and have 3x multiplier. It seriously sounds like the game is going to explode. Haha. Good call on going with Classic sterns btw.

1) Tron
2) ST or IM
3) Metallica or Walking Dead or ACDC Premium

It's like a pyramid, which is what makes it so hard to determine which one to buy next. Truthfully Sterns are my favorite machines (sans BDK). I like them all to a certain extent. Those are the 6 I'd own if I shuffled the collection though (with TSPP being another potential candidate).

Lord of the Rings- perfect theme implementation. A true journey to complete. Modes are all distinct. Awesome game. Tough to top.

Metallica- not a fan of the band, but the pin is incredible. Donny's art, and Borg's design with Lyman's rules. The Unholy Trinity of Pinball!!

ACDC- A near perfect pin. If the cannon didn't obscure the right orbit area, I think this would be a perfect machine. Ritchie flow with Lyman code depth... wow. The code here is all about scoring too, not modes. It's a very interesting take. I wish Donny had done the art for this one too.

Metallica
AC/DC
Spider Man

Tron LE - The game is like Mary Poppins ... Practically perfect in every way!
LOTR - Super immersive, and the best ruleset in all of pinball.
AC/DC Premium/LE - Rockin' music, and extremely unique and fun risk/reward gameplay.

Absolutely not! This game has so much more to offer, you should get deeper into it.

My Top 3:

1. Metallica, one of the greatest games ever made
2. RBION, tough and addicting, intense gameplay, great audio
3. LOTR, great all around package

stingray, catacomb and meteor. Cos i dont like that new fangled stuff

1. LOTR - Combination of theme, rule-set, and immersive sound/voice package. This is what a "complete" game feels like! I had one for many years and sold it just because the game times got too long and with a new baby I had no time for long games. I also feel with most of Keefer's games that I eventually "hit a wall" in that I get really far in every game and then get stuck. In LOTR that wall was completing both Fellowship and ROTK MB in the same game.

2. SM - Best layout on a modern machine, Awesome rules that are designed for both novice/expert players. SuperHero Wizard mode is one of the best in pinball. If I liked the theme better it would be #1

3. ACDC - 2 words "Song Jackpot". The risk/reward of being able to score huge points on each ball is awesome. Take away the song jackpot though and I don't think it even makes my top 10 Stern list.

I'd give an honorable mention to TSPP which has almost too much depth/stacking for its own good.

After these 4 games there's a pretty significant drop to my number 5.

If you're still reading..

5. Metallica - I love the CIU modes, Blackened mode, and strategy of stacking Fuel to build up big scores. What I don't like is all the front-end chopping wood and the layout to me feels clunky in comparison to a Steve Ritchie game. Play Met and then play SM or ACDC after and you'll know what I mean.

6. Tron - I have a blast playing it but it is too shallow to consider owning. It's also not as butter smooth as SM or ST. I appreciate the difficulty of the "Gem" shot but I don't like the way it often exits SDTM.

7. RBION - Great rules, unique layout, quirky Lawlor fun. Theme/sounds doesn't do much for me but to me this is Stern's version of TZ.

Cool thread.

My top 3 (this is bound to get bashed around).

1. World Poker Tour
I'm actually serious. The scoring combos are endless, the make your own jackpot 3x return lane scorers blow me away. It's made by Ritchie, and it has the most drops of any DMD. I've probably logged nearly 1,000 games in 6 months. A true keeper, for me.

2. IMVE
Great game made better. Love the double goal theme-how one holds (marks-Jericho) and the other dies at ball drain (5 super characters), the open middle playfield, the do or die feature, and plain and simply I do not get bored playing this game over and over, like I do on many others.

3. ACDC --Premium only.
Like the band, love the game. 12 different goals from the start. I think the initial hatred for Metallica that has subsided now was because they did not do the same thing with the jukebox and the game goals. I find the Pro unplayable due to the stationaries that side drain you to death, even when you are hitting targets you are supposed to go after. The Premium is the largest improvement over Pro of all the Sterns, and the game is deep, challenging if set up right, and has tremendous replay value. Will be mine someday.

Modern Sterns:
LoTR
Met
Spidey

Classic Stern:
Star Gazer
Quicksilver
Stars

Tron
Metallica
LOTR