top 10 monsters
 
1 Cyber Jar: its got a built in dark hole and can refresh your hand. but if its destroyed by a raigeki it wont go off.
 
2 Witch of the Black Forest(WotBF): a card that should be placed in every deck. since most powerful monsters have a low defense strength the witch can fetch them from your deck with ease. and it works even if the witch is destroyed in an attack or even by a magic card effect.
 
3 Jinzo: another overpowered card. putting this guy on the field is spelling doom for your opponent. no trap cards can be used.
 
4 Sangan: though this card can only go for lower attack strength momsters this isnt so bad you can use it to fetch useful monsters like magician of faith(MoF) or even a WotBF.
 
5 Injection Fairy Lily(IFL): an unassuming cute card that has won games with swift attacks. partner it with a life gaining deck and this nurse can end games before they even begin.
 
6 Exiled Force: the evolved man eater bug(MEB). its better in every single way. plus since its not a flip effect you can use it right off the bat.
 
7 Fiber Jar: the ultimate reset button. wipes everything clear except for life points and monsters that were removed from the game. necessary for exodia decks and anything that relies on a specific combo.
 
8 Yata-Garasu: force your opponent to dicard from his hand then use this monster to prevent him/her from drawing.
 
9 Gemini Elf: there are few level 4 monsters in the game with 1900 attack strength that dont have a drawback. this is one of them. a solid card for beatdown decks.
 
10 Mechanicalchaser: a nifty monster that is one of the most powerful level 4 cards in the game when it comes to attack strength. 1850 is just enough to take care of those common 1800 attack strength monsters like la djinn and bistro butcher.
 
top 10 magics
 
1 Pot of Greed(PoG): two free cards no drawbacks. a necessity in every deck. 
 
2 Raigeki: one of the best cards in the game. even if your opponent has an army of monsters marching your way this card will sweep them away. needed in every deck.
 
3 Swords of Revealing Light(SoRL): stopping your opponent for three turns is invaluable for any deck to get their main combos off especially for exodia decks.
 
4 Dark Hole: some people consider it a bad idea to use but the solution is simple use it during a situation when it only harms your opponent. if you have no monsters its like a second raigeki.
 
5 Monster Reborn: its in every deck. take a monster from your graveyard or your opponents and use it as you wish even those you discarded.
 
6 Harpie's Feather Duster(HFD): the raigeki against magic and trap cards. use it before attacking to get rid of any chance that hell use trap cards to destroy your monsters.
 
7 Change of Heart(CoH): key card in every deck whether you need it for an effect or quick damage. best used for tribute summons to get that summoned skull out without tributing any of your own monsters.
 
8 Graceful Charity: usable in nearly every deck out there. and every deck needs it. though dropping two cards from your hand is a drawback you can always choose to dicard a high level monster then use monster reborn on it.
 
9 Heavy Storm: the dark hole of magic/trap removal. this one wipes the field including your own magic and traps. use it when you have no magic/traps then place your traps afterward.
 
10 Snatch Steal: even though its the sister to CoH it doesnt work as well. since its an equipment card you cant use it on face down monsters and your opponent gains 1000 life points during each of his or her standby phases.
 
top 10 traps
 
1 Magic Cylinder: one of the most overpowered cards in yu gi oh. not only does it negate an attack it also does direct damage to your opponent. its just that your opponent must attack in order for you to use it.
 
2 Mirror Force: nuke all of your opponents monsters that are in attack mode. not a bad card. its prone to being destroyed by magic/trap removal however.
 
3 Imperial Order: a terribly overpowered card. its basically a free magic jammer. that should tell you how powerful it is. and you arent forced to pay the life points during your standby phase if you dont want.
 
4 Call of the Haunted(CotH): this monster is best used for tribute purposes. or if a monster has been destroyed during battle with mirror force just use this card to bring it back and attack.
 
5 Magic Jammer: one simple negation card that is needed in every deck. this card stops some of the big magic cards that can shut down your plans. save them for raigeki dark hole and monster reborn.
 
6 Solemn Judgement: the ultimate catch all card. this can negate magic traps and even monster summons. the problem is the life point cost. late in the game the payment is minior as your life points will already be low.
 
7 Magic Drain: its not a very good counter trap for standard decks but its value is immeasurable in discard decks where its a lose lose situation for your opponent either negate the magic card or lose a card from his or her hand.
 
8 Backup Soldier: though almost worthless in standard decks various combo decks need it including exodia and magnet valkyrion decks.
 
9 Last Turn:
 
i couldnt think of a trap useable enough to be put into the tenth place of this list
 
bring on the hate mail1!!!!11!1!11
 
peace out,
                toonboi
 
                                                                            information from the wizard magazine