I've read a lot of criticism for
From a Buick 8, and I agree the novel is a little frustrating in its lack of explanation, but some parts of the book really,
really creeped me out. The descriptions of those undescribable creatures who emerge from the buick really made my flesh crawl.
Anyway, of what I've read, the best King novels:
Salem's Lot, Pet Semetary (his scariest book, IMHO),
The Girl who loved Tom Gordon (simple but superb),
Needful Things,
Desperation and
The Regulators. The Stand is a masterpiece that fizzles in its final third.
As for short stories,
Gramma scared the bejeezus out of me, and the conclusion to
The Jaunt was truly horrific.
The Ballad of the Flexible Bullet was strange and powerful.
I am the Doorway, Sometimes they Come Back, Children of the Corn and
The Raft also deserve a mention.
But overall, I think
Different Seasons is Kings' masterpiece. Four perfect novellas in one book.
And worst?
Dreamcatcher, an embarrassment in so many ways.