IMO, most Arthur C. Clarke books fit the bill. A few novels off the top of my head, in my order of preference:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Rendezvous with Rama
• Childhood's End
• The Songs of Distant Earth
• The City and the Stars
• The Fountains of Paradise
• The Hammer of God
• Imperial Earth

2001 and Rama have sequels, but I'd recommend against reading them until after reading the above. IMO, the Rama sequels are inferior, not so much Clarke and more his collaborator.