There are some supplements (and sometimes basic rulesets) out there that are so great, innovative and fun that you enjoy reading them even when you might not use the content in any game...
Name your favourites, not the most useful ones but the most fun to read.
Mine are at least:
RuneQuest Gods of Glorantha
GURPS Illuminati
GURPS Bunnies&Burrows
Planescape Factol's Manifesto.
What can I say, I like weird philosophies (and bunnies).
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Off the top of my head, I can only come up with a couple. I'll post again when I get back home for Christmas break.
The Dragon-Blooded - Exalted
Very well written, gave me a ton of inspiration. Ever since I first read it, I've been dying to play in a Dragon-Blooded campaign.
Milwaukee by Night - Vampire: The Masquerade
Not so much for its innate quality as for the use I've gotten from it over the years - my Vampire game that's run on and off since I was in high school is set here, and the NPC's are so actualized by this point that I feel as if I know them personally.
The Giovanni Chronicles - Vampire: The Masquerade
A great campaign, heavy on both action and roleplaying. The climax of the first book is absolutely classic, though I haven't gotten to run much more than that.
Masks of Nyarlothotep for Call of Cthulhu.
The Book of Nuisances is funny as all getout.
A bit off-topic, as these are part of a system's basic rules -- the critical hit tables for Rolemaster.
You will never find a more entertaining RPG component anywhere.
Ooh, have to agree on those crit (and fumble) tables of Rolemaster/Spacemaster. Huge fun to read though I am not a big advocate of ever using them.
I've heard lots of praise about that Masks of Nyarlahotep, I should probably check it out even if I don't really play CoC. Some other Cthulhu books have got good word-of-mouth too...
A few off the top of my head:
Lords of Madness for D&D: Still one of the coolest books ever.
Secrets of the Shadowlands for the L5R RPG: Be the best bad guys there are!
Blood Enemies, for Birthright: Alot of cool villains.
Veil of Night, For Vampire, the Dark Ages: The best setting book for Vampire I ever read.
Wraith: The Great War: Wraith was so ambitious, and this one doubly so.
Something I found entertaining to read was Monte Cook's Arcana Evolved.
Also loved Chronomancer back in the days of AD&D.
When it comes to supplements, GURPS has some real winners IMO.
GURPS Illuminati
GURPS IOU (Illuminati University) is a great read if just for the humor value.
GURPS Technomancer (Atomic Lich, need I say more?)
Lords of Madness, I have to agree, is also a great one.
The one which has seen the most use recently for me though is the Spell Compendium. Almost fills all my casting needs (The only other thing I really feel the lack for is an updated 'Summon Monster/Summon Natures Ally list that includes any relevant creatures from other sources, even if just the other Monster Manuals and WOTC published books)
I always enjoyed Strike Force by Aaron Allston for the Champions RPG. It's a great look at one group's superhero campaign and one of the most interesting part is the timeline, because you can see where various ideas were unleashed on the campaign and why. Also, Warhammer Armies: Skaven. I've never liked orcs in a D&D campaign, but hordes of rat creatures, including their own chem warfare troops? Perfect!
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RPG Superstar 2013 Top 32
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I'm a huge fan of the Draconomicon mostly for the educational material and AMAZING artwork. Lockwood rules the dragon art realm. As far as usefulness, this book tends to spend more time in my armoire than on my gaming table, but I consider it more of a collector's item than a gaming supplement. My games tend to be pretty light on the draconic side, though I did make use of this book in creating my most powerful villain ever (a half-fiend advanced great wyrm red dragon).
There are some supplements (and sometimes basic rulesets) out there that are so great, innovative and fun that you enjoy reading them even when you might not use the content in any game...
Ars Magica, 4th Edition (a great take on fantasy magic)
The Dragon and the Bear (a supplement for Poland, the Baltic, and Russia for Ars Magica)Spelljammer Boxed Set for 2nd Ed AD&D (too bad it wasn't supported better)
The Wheel of Time Roleplaying Game (for a very nice alternate d20 magic system, if nothing else)
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MERP/RoleMaster's Angmar: Land of the Witch-King is probably my favourite sourcebook for any system - THE definitive guide to the worst place in the world... Its companion books Arnor: The people and Arnor: The land are almost equally good, making this triad stand head and shoulders above just about anything else.
No supplement offered more bang for the buck than Mercenary's Guidebook for Traveller - all the power armour and heavy weapon any discerning fan of indiscriminate automatic fire could desire. Pass me my PGMP-15!
Several AD&D supplements dealt with evil groups, but none were as good as The Scarlet Brotherhood. After reading it, all other villainous factions seemed rather pedestrian compared to the Brothers.
It might be debatable whether it is "great" or not, but I really enjoyed GW's Ogre Kingdoms - THE most over-the-top racial supplement they have produced yet, which really is saying something.
Finally, just about all of the GURPS supplements are great. While I am not a huge fan of the GURPS system itself, I have nothing but admiration for the supplements the system creates.