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My Official Top 10 Stephen King Novels! 2026 Update

Andrew’s Wizardly Reads

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Deciding on an ultimate Top 10 Stephen King list is one of the toughest challenges for any horror and speculative fiction fan! Welcome to my Official Top 10 Stephen King Books of All Time, where I am finally ranking my absolute favorite masterpieces from the King of Horror.

From sprawling epic dark fantasy to claustrophobic psychological horror and unforgettable character-driven thrillers, these 10 books represent the best of King's legendary bibliography.

In this definitive ranking breakdown, we are covering:

My Personal Top 10: Counting down from #10 to my ultimate #1 Stephen King book of all time.

Why They Made the Cut: Analyzing the character work, atmospheric horror, and world-building that set these specific titles apart.

Honorable Mentions: Shouting out a few painful cuts that narrowly missed the top 10 list!

Where does your favorite Stephen King book rank on my list? What is your absolute #1 King novel of all time? Drop your ranking in the comments below and let's debate!

Don't forget to like and subscribe, and hit that notification bell to keep exploring the best horror, fantasy, and sci-fi on my shelves!

#StephenKing #Top10StephenKing #HorrorBooks #BookTube #KingOfHorror #DarkTower #BookRanking #HorrorCommunity #AndrewsWizardlyReads #ShelfStaples #SpookySeason

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20 Comments

@jonathanrodriguez4666 7 days ago

The best thing about King lists is that no list is the same. Having finally read everything King has published, my list making can officially begin. But, it always surprises me how slept on Duma Key is. It’s incredible. Great list

@frantictoast3741 4 days ago (edited)

That's a solid list.

That's what, I think, is one of King's greatest strengths and that is to take things you wouldn't normally find scary and turn them into something terrifying. Diving into a lot of King for spooky season.

@jenlovesreading 8 days ago

I'm quite new to Stephen King's books. I'm reading them in order and am currently on Insomnia. The Stand is my favourite so far but there's so many I've really enjoyed. I think he's unique in making the characters stand out so much and I also love the links to his previous books/characters

@BookChatWithPat8668 6 days ago

Hi Andrew. I really enjoyed hearing you talk about your list. I was delighted to see The Green Mile so high up on your list. That is a novel that I used to teach to high school seniors (I'm a retired high school English teacher who taught for almost 40 years), and I can honestly say that it made readers out of many kids who were really "reluctant" readers before that. It's a great novel for discussion with kids as there are just so many important themes in it. I just recently reread it this summer as a buddy-read with another booktuber, and it did not disappoint. I had long stayed away from The Shining because the movie freaked me out when I was a young person seeing it as a new movie, but I just this summer read the novel (also as a buddy-read with a couple of booktubers), and it was my great surprise of the summer. I loved it. Great list, Andrew. 😊

@bigfudge20 4 days ago

The Shining was actually my first King book, and i read it kinda recently. i loved it, and i would definitely put it in my top 5-10 list, hopefully it stays that way the more i read. i am only on my fifth King novel now, and it’s coming to a close, hopefully this week i’ll be able to finish my fifth

@nathanieltarr893 8 days ago (edited)

Ive been doing a lot of King re-reading this year and I've found that my ranking list changes every time i re-read one. Also, love the amount of newer King books on your list!

@CoversSpinesandPages 9 days ago

I haven’t read SK in a long time, but started IT the other day. It’s a reread after 35’ish years for me and I forgot how deep into his character work he gets. I love it. I remember liking Needful Things, and it’s on my list to reread.
I loved his Four Past Midnight anthology. I think of The Langoliers every time I get on a plane.

@Maximus0623 7 days ago

I like the list, and that 11/22/63 isn't the only book written less than 30 years ago to make the cut, unlike most lists. His modern writing style is different than what it used to be, but I think his new stuff is still great. It's true his newer books aren't very dark or scary, but his newer books also tend to have better pacing and less bloat than his older works.

@Israel_Abramtzev 9 days ago

I'm so glad to see, that I'm not the only one who got ´Duma Key´ in his Top 5. ´The Shining´ was my Stephen King No. One Book for over 30 years (I´m 50) until I read ´Lisey's Story´ for the second time in 2019 (after 13 years).... This is my Top 10 S.K. Books: 10) The Dark Tower 4. Wizard and Glass. 9)Needful Things. 8) Salem's Lot. 7) The Stand 6) Misery 5) It. 4) Duma Key. 3) Pet Sematary 2) The Shining 1) Lisey's Story

@marcusworldofstory 8 days ago

As of right now, (I'm still in the midst of my massive King reread): The Stand, It, Pet Semetary, The Green Mile, Dead Zone, Misery, Salem's Lot, Drawing of the Three, Carrie, The Shining'

@Fenris-Studio 8 days ago

Amazing list! I find Billy Summers and the Institute to be rather underrated when it comes to Stephen King. I agree that they are both excellent. I think I need to get to Holly at some point and I'm looking forward to it.

@BookishDrummer 6 days ago

hey!!!! we agree on DUMA KEY!!!! sooooo good

@kassandar 4 days ago

Okay, here is my top five: The Stand, It, The Outsider, Salem’s Lot, 11/22.63. The Stand and It are tied for me. Some of his books I read so long ago that I feel like I need to do a reread before I can properly rank them. The problem is there are still so many of his books I haven’t read yet!

@davidhubert949 8 days ago

Just started getting back into king and so i only have 2 read so far but i loved them. 11/22/63 and Needful Things and both of those are in my top 3 that i have read this year

@BookishDrummer 6 days ago

the shining is great, and that's also the book that really got me into King

@stevehill353 5 days ago (edited)

1. Salem's Lot
2. The Stand
3. It
4.11 22 63
5. Duma Key
6. Needful Things
7.The Shining
8. Cujo
9. Pet Sematary
10. Doctor Sleep

@marcusworldofstory 8 days ago

I'm going to say this about The Shining, after I first read it, it was top 5, then when I reread it few years back, for the small amount of characters it had, I thought it dragged a bit, which was why it sadly went down some. I'm excited to be rereading It next month for the 40th anniversary. It's been close to 20 years, if nit exactly

@danielhruskocy1624 7 days ago

Nice video...

My personal list (I finished reading all of King's library last fall)...

1) 11/22/63
2) The Stand
3) It
4) Pet Semetary
5) The Shining
6) Salem's Lot
7) Duma Key
8) Desperation
9) Dreamcatcher
10) Insomnia

11) Christine
12) The Outsider
13) Revival
14) The Green Mile
15) Misery

As for The Dark Tower...I really loved The Drawing of the Three and The Wastelands back in the 80's, but I got side tracked from the story for a very long time before coming back in 2023 and 2024 to re-read and finish the journey to the tower. My feelings on the individual books is that I love 2, 3, 4, parts of 7; I tolerate 1, 5, parts of 7 and I am not a fan at all of 6....

Short Stories and Anthologies are also a thing with King...
1) Different Seasons
2) Skeleton Crew
3) Four Past Midnight
4) You Like It Dark
5) Just After Sunset