The Stars My Destination is really good, and most definitely worth your time. I'm happy to see it win (I'm aware of the limitations of this contest; it was still fun.) I'll confess to holding a minority opinion: I think that the Demolished Man is a better novel. And, actually, I enjoy Bester's short stories better still.
I've never read Gateway, and this thread has reminded me of that. So I'm off to find a copy this weekend, hooray!
edited to add: never read Cyteen, either. That doesn't appeal to me quite as much, but maybe I'll give it a shot.