Truly great short stories

The Gift by O Henry. It's beautiful in it's simplicity. The first time I read it I cried.

The Open Window (Saki or Sake?)
The Devil and Daniel Webster

I like many short stories by Asimov; my favourites are Bicentennial Man, All the Troubles of the World, Nightfall, and Not Final.
I´m a big fan of Machado de Assis. Some short stories that are masterpieces are Missa do Galo, A Igreja do Diabo (Devil´s Church), Teoria do Medalhão.I don´t know if his short stories were translated into English, but if they are, I recommend reading them.
Some short stories of Stephen King I liked: Riding the Bullet, The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, Word Processor of the Gods, The Breathing Method.
I also liked The Monkey´s Paw (W.W.Jacobs), and The Black Cat (Poe).

I´ve read many comments here in this thread about The Lottery. It seems interesting, I think I should read it. :)

I would definitely have to say that James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" is the best short story I have ever read. Although Kafka's Metaphorsis comes in a very close second:D

Tough question. I am fond of "The Most Dangerous Game"
I'm sure it's in the public domain

"The Silver Jar" by Capote is beautifully written, and has a surprise ending.
There are many by Capote which are astonishing.

My favourite is "Khol Do" By Sadiq Hussain Munto.

Here are some of my favorites, for what it's worth:

Contents of the Dead Man's Pockets Jack Finney
The Rocket Man Ray Bradbury
Give It Up! Franz Kafka
The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas Ursula K. Le Guin
A Little Fable Franz Kafka
Dearth Aimee Bender
Bartleby the Scrivener Herman Mellville
The Beggar Guy de Maupassant
Light Is Like Water Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Eyes of a Blue Dog Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"The Sisters" or "Araby" by James Joyce.

Also, "Eyes of a Blue Dog" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez, as Cheese King just said.

the lottery,metamorphosis and the piece of string..

these are my favourite they need to be my favourite bec we have a lesson at uni. as short storry

Poe's 'The Bordeaux Dilligence."

my favorite short story writers:
Roald Dahl
E.L. Doctorow
Guy de Maupassant
Jhumpa Lahiri
Truman Capote

I don't about all time favourite but i really liked The little match girl by hans Christian Andersen. and Bliss by Katherine Mansfield

Have you read "The Cosmopolitan" by O'Heanry? If you had, i think you would agree it is amusingly ironic!:idea: Read it some time, seriously!

There are a lot of great short stories. I think one of the stories I found the most moving was All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury. So sad.

I don't read many short stories, but my father loves Asimov and he introduced me to his writing...so, I would say"the last question"..