Criss Angel makes his living as an entertainer, not a messiah. In fact, he has revealed the inner workings of dozens of his effects in books available to the general public. The primary goal of Angel's show is to entertain a television audience numbering in the millions, not the comparatively few who have the opportunity to be present during the filming. With that in mind, the producers of the show would be foolish not to pre-screen audience members or perform multiple takes in an effort to secure the most favorable reactions for broadcast. Although the original MindFreak stage show debuted in 2001 and the television series in 2005, it is important to remember that Angel has been performing magic for more than 20 years and has been seen by a great many people. So in response to your question: I have seen Criss perform live on two separate occasions (both pre-MindFreak) and would suspect there are other users on this site who have as well.

It seems you accidentally picked the Dolphins to beat the Pats.:P

Baltimore Ravens at Buffalo Bills

Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

Arizona Cardinals at Washington Redskins

San Francisco 49ers at New York Giants

New England Patriots at Miami Dolphins

Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans

Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs at Oakland Raiders

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals

Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles

St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks

Minnesota Vikings at Dallas Cowboys

Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts at Jacksonville Jaguars

You'd do well to steer clear of the Essential volumes unless you're strapped for cash and only interested in catching up on backstory. Although they appear to be a bargain at 10 or 15 dollars for cIassic story arcs from long-running series, the full color source material is reproduced entirely in black and white and the paper quality is poor.

Sin City is a solid choice: great writing, great art. Of the other titles you list, I've only read the House of M. For all of the fanfare surrounding this limited series, it felt very much the same as any other non-continuity spinoff. I've been told that I would have liked it better if I had followed the Disassembled crossover.

So, then, what else to buy? I would suggest that the Marvel Ultimates line is responsible for some of the best reads in the last few years. You might consider Ultimate X-Men TPB #1 (Mark Millar) or Ultimate Iron Man TPB #1 (Orson Scott Card). Watchmen (Alan Moore) also remains a personal favorite. It's twenty years old and still better than most current releases.