Zelany is actually the only one that sounds familiar out of that group. Are most of those Sci-Fi authors? [...] Do you have any favorites that those authors have written?
Some of the authors I mentioned have written both fantasy and science fiction, but I was thinking of them for their works of fantasy (although in some cases there's a fine line between the two). If I had to place them in rough order of recommendation, I would do it thusly:
Zelazny -- his first Chronicles of Amber is a fantasy classic (the first book is "Nine Princes in Amber", or look for the collection "The Great Book of Amber"). First person POV of a man who wakes up without any memory, and slowly discovers he's the heir to the primal kingdom of which our world and legends are just shadows. If you've read Steven Brust's Vlad Taltos books (have you? if not, they're well worth a read, too) then Zelazny's characterization of Corwin is similar, sarcastic and introspective.
Martha Wells -- my favorite fantasy writer that nobody knows about. If you like Brandon Sanderson's books you might like hers: single-volume fantasies set in richly imagined worlds without tropes like dwarves and dragons; not too dark; often a dash of romance. "Death of the Necromancer" (not as cheesy as it sounds, was a Nebula Award nominee) is a good place to begin as long as you don't mind a bit of Sherlock Holmes pastiche; otherwise look into "Wheel of the Infinite," a fantasy with a Southeast Asian influence. First few chapters of each are online at
http://www.marthawells.com/.
K.J. Bishop -- I thought of her "Etched City" because it's another somewhat gritty, morally ambiguous take on fantasy, like Bakker, but has better defined characters than Erikson and a more streamlined story (although without any sort of strong "quest object"). First chapter (which doesn't really do the book justice) is online at
http://www.fantasticmetropolis.com/i/etched/full/.
M. John Harrison -- I mentioned him because his Viriconium fantasy books (collected in the volume "Viriconium") attempt to deconstruct epic fantasy, sort of like what Bakker does. Gorgeous writing and deeply thoughtful but not the best choice if you want strongly defined characters or plotting.
MattD