So, I've done a lot of thinking about this "art form"... I have a lot of favorites. Growing up, my dad had a traveling job. I would steal his cassette tapes of various comedians and I instantly fell in love with that whole era of comedy. I grew up listening to Carlin, Cosby, and Pryor. Over the years, my taste for comedy has evolved quite a bit. If I had to list a top 5 (current guys/girls) it would include, no certain order:
1) Chappelle
2) Louis CK
3) Kevin Hart
4) Joe Rogan
5) Joey Diaz
I know this has been discussed before, so the repost police can suck a dick. [Reply]
I am also a big time fan of stand up comedians. I would rather watch stand up than just about anything.
There's several different categories, I don't think you can really choose like "Five Best." Here's some of my all time faves, by category:
Dead Guys:
Richard Pryor
Sam Kinison
Bill Hicks
Jonathan Winters
George Carlin
Rodney Dangerfield.
Pryor was the best at understanding the black perspective. Kinison was best at why you should stay single. Hicks and Carlin on politics. Winters on improvisation. Rodney was the best at one liners.
Live Guys:
Lewis Black
Jim Gaffigan
Ron White
Dave Chappelle
Chris Rock
Louis CK
Steven Wright
Bill Cosby
Guys Who Are Now Primarily Actors:
Steve Martin
Eddie Murphy
Jerry Seinfeld
Patton Oswald
Tim Allen
Robin Williams
Jim Carey
Dana Carvey
Jeff Foxworthy
Impressionists:
Kevin Pollack
Frank Caliendo
Darrell Hammond
Billy Crystal
Chicks:
Sarah Silverman
Maria Bamford
Rita Rudner
Phyllis Diller (RIP)
Ellen DeGeneris
Wanda Sykes
Musicial Comedians
Smothers Brothers
Steven Lynch
Rodney Carrington
Tim Wilson
Adam Sandler
Robert Klein [Reply]
Originally Posted by gblowfish:
Impressionists:
Kevin Pollack
Frank Callienda
Darrell Hammond
Billy Crystal
I'd add these two to your list of impressionists:
Rich Little , he was one of the first, and is still very good;
Jim Meskimen--does a TON of voices, but isn't as well known for some reason.
Todd Barry is a very laid back guy. Not as laid back as Steven Wright, but very laid back. In my list of dead guys, I forgot Richard Jeni. He killed himself, which was terrible, because he was fighting depression for a long time. Greg Giraldo was another guy lost to drugs, he was a great stand up. Dave Attell and Jim Norton are both funny too.
I used to love to watch the old school guys on the Dean Martin Roasts and on the Tonight show. Guys like Don Rickles, Jan Murray, Buddy Hackett, Nipsey Russell, Flip Wilson, Red Buttons, Foster Brooks, Bob Newhart, Redd Foxx, Alan King and David Steinberg.
Woody Allen was a great stand up, until he started making movies and became a pedophile. [Reply]
I forgot guys like Carson and Letterman, although a monologue really isn't the same as doing 30 minutes of stand up.
Russell Peters, Bobcat Goldthwait and Emo Phillips all deserve mention as well. Bobcat is hilarious at standup, especially if you've heard his act lately. [Reply]
