....or a "canon of classics" can be the reading list the English teacher gave to torment you during summer vacation...

From the term "canon," I get the implication that it's "required reading" if you want to be considered literate. We had a thread Way Back When titled Fifty Songs Everyone Should Know. I think that for most things, the "canon" would be different for each individual, but the lists would have a lot of items in common.

-Joe-