98 stories here about time-travel, overpopulation, media saturation and so on going back to 1956. Very prophetic and influential. This is the best collection of short stories I have ever read. The Complete Short Stories of Ambrose Bierce is a close second for what that's worth.

I was wondering if anyone has any other Ballard titles to recommend or any other Ballardian authors to suggest (if such a thing is possible). The word genius is bantered about a lot but I think here it fits. It is possible that Ballard was indeed more influential than popular so I'd like to know who his literary spawn were if anyone knows. Perhaps he is the literary equivalent of the Velvet Underground. Thanks in advance for any information.

Thanks for the recommendation. I put From Here to Infinity on request at the library. The thing I like best about Ballard is that he doesn't over explain anything in his stories. You have to infer a lot of the meaning. Will look into Disch as well. 
Grazianohmygod said:

I haven't read Ballard, but the first time I really heard about him was in a great Science Fiction Literature Lecture series titled From Here to Infinity. Ballard was in a lecture concerning "surrealist" writers including Williams S. Burroughs and Ray Bradbury. I recommend the lectures (many public libraries should have it).

One author that I like from around the same time period is Thomas Disch, who wrote a strange little science fiction novel called Camp Concentration.

Hopefully I'll get to Ballard one day.

I haven't read Ballard, but the first time I really heard about him was in a great Science Fiction Literature Lecture series titled From Here to Infinity. Ballard was in a lecture concerning "surrealist" writers including Williams S. Burroughs and Ray Bradbury. I recommend the lectures (many public libraries should have it).

One author that I like from around the same time period is Thomas Disch, who wrote a strange little science fiction novel called Camp Concentration.

Hopefully I'll get to Ballard one day.