I don't think a single person answered the question properly, which was "apps that every Mac user should have", not "Your favorite ten apps".
Here's what every Mac user should have, including justifications:
1. Microsoft Office (Appleworks is for amateurs, Office is mandatory for biz to biz communications. Have fun sending Appleworks docs to clients.)
2. Explorer (Yes, more bowing to the evil empire, but Omniweb still ain't cutting it and the others are miles away overall. Does anyone really NEED an alternative web browser, it's only web browsing for crying out loud).
3. Lemmings (the game--one of the most unique games ever made and fun for all ages, though good luck getting it ro run on new macs/OSs)
4. Acrobat Reader (AFAIK, OS X doesn't read Password protected PDFs and doesn't offer a solution)
5. For pre-X OSs, ATM (adobe type manager), preferably Deluxe. A must have for font management and Postscript font printing/rendering.
6. Toast Titanium (with CD burners being more prevalent, everyone should have real burning software. Toast is the best by far. Have you used the PC equivalents, they are unbearable to use! What cave apes designed those interfaces? Nero, are you serious? What a mess. Easy CD Creator. Yeah right, Easy Mess Maker.)
7. Quicken/Quickbooks or similar accounting app. (Computer based accounting is the way to go. Pick one for home or business or both, but defintely pick one and use it.)
8. Synchronize (from
www.qdea.com, this little known app is a godsend. With many people having multiple machines (work/home/laptop), it is critical to automate file synchronization. Most people don't even think about apps like this or know they exist, but once you use one, there's no going back. There are other file synch apps, but none work better as I've tried them all. Unfortunately it's not OS X savvy yet, but they're working on it.
Huh, I'm out of apps. I went through everything, and these are all I can call "must haves" that aren't already part of the OS or available at initial install (iTunes, iMovie, etc.)