I have always thought that the difference between a good comedian and a divine one is the latter's ability of making you laugh consistently and incessantly throughout the entire stand-up until your jaw drops. Because it's very easy for a professional comedian to make the audience laugh every now and then, but only a true genius can keep the laughs coming with every joke and every punchline. That's a whole different beast, and only a handful of comedians are capable of doing it.

Now, I realize that we all have different tastes and our own ideas about what makes a comedian great. So before I give you my top 3, I would like to give you the three most important criteria that I look for in a comedian to pass the test:

1) The ability to be naturally funny: most comedians aren't quick, witty or funny enough to improvise. They have to think of the jokes at least 24 hours in advance and then repeat the same jokes in every stand-up they have. And even when the do improvise, it's really not that funny. But true geniuses can think of new jokes (or comebacks to hecklers) almost instantly.

2) No PC: I'm a firm believer that comedians should have absolute freedom to say whatever the hell they want without censorship or consequences. That's why I really don't like comedians who are too PC for my taste.

3) Nonstop laughter: I can't stress this enough. A very good comedian should be able to make the audience laugh every time they open their mouth. That's what separates a good one from a beast.

With that out of the way, here are my top 3 favorite comedians of all-time:



1. Bill Burr: An absolute monster. No one comes close as far as I'm concerned. His witty sense of humor, perfect delivery and funny jokes keep me laughing throughout the entire show.

2. Louis CK: he's a little PC, unfortunately, but I always find myself laughing constantly during his standup. No doubt, one of the very best.

3. Jim Jefferies / Jimmy Carr / Dave Chappelle: the third spot is shared by those three.



Jim Jefferies has turned PC after they gave him his own show, which is unfortunate. But in his early stand-ups, he was ruthless and couldn't give a flying fck about what anybody thinks. He used to make fun of everybody all while keeping it funny.

Jimmy Carr is the finest British stand-up comic, as far as I'm concerned. He's so quick and confident in his wit that he challenges his audience to heckle him and get away with it. Needless to say, no one survived the challenge (except maybe for the guy who told him his mom's death was funnier than his act.

Dave Chappelle needs no introduction and most people would choose him as their undisputed best comedian of all-time. To a certain extent, I agree. Yes, I agree that he's very funny and highly intelligent. But somehow I don't laugh constantly in his act. Maybe it's my own fault or maybe he's simply not my type of comedian. But it doesn't change the fact that he's a very good comedian and that's why he made my top 3.


The stage is yours now guys, let's have your top 3 favorite comedians of all-time (please don't say Kevin Hart or Amy Schumer).

Louis CK too political correct?

He whips out his dick at any breathing female and uses the N-word liberally. Also made an incest defending movie.

Ill update with my top 3 when I get home. Will probably make it movie and tv-based since I’m not a huge stand up guy.

Why does OP say no Kevin Hart in a top 3 favorite comedians?

guest7 wrote:Why does OP say no Kevin Hart in a top 3 favorite comedians?

Elitist dictation of taste most likely

guest7 wrote:Why does OP say no Kevin Hart in a top 3 favorite comedians?

Just a semi-humorous touch to lighten the mood. Please don't let it stop you from mentioning him if you really like him

1. Harmonica
2. Chad
3. Toss up between Sports or Turok

/thread

I don't have any favorite stand-up comedians, but I like all of the ones mentioned in the OP. Jerry Seinfeld is also a timeless classic. Recently, I've enjoyed watching British game shows with Richard Ayoade in them. I appreciate his subtle, witty sense of humor. He's also half Norwegian Ever since I was a kid, I've had fond memories of watching movies with Jim Carrey in them. People seem to either hate or love him, though. I've read that he's struggling psychologically, these days. There are a lot of theories surrounding what is allegedly a desperate attempt from him to break free from the dark side of Hollywood - some pretty farfetched stuff, including illuminati theories. He's been depressed and isolating himself in a cabin in the woods since his most recent wife committed suicide. Talks a lot about pseudo-intellectual stuff, and seems to have an indifferent outlook on life. I hope his condition isn't as bad as it seems to be.

Thimmy wrote:I don't have any favorite stand-up comedians, but I like all of the ones mentioned in the OP. Jerry Seinfeld is also a timeless classic. Recently, I've enjoyed watching British game shows with Richard Ayoade in them. I appreciate his subtle, witty sense of humor. He's also half Norwegian Ever since I was a kid, I've had fond memories of watching movies with Jim Carrey in them. People seem to either hate or love him, though. I've read that he's struggling psychologically, these days. There are a lot of theories surrounding what is allegedly a desperate attempt from him to break free from the dark side of Hollywood - some pretty farfetched stuff, including illuminati theories. He's been depressed and isolating himself in a cabin in the woods since his most recent wife committed suicide. Talks a lot about pseudo-intellectual stuff, and seems to have an indifferent outlook on life. I hope his condition isn't as bad as it seems to be.

I'm a little worried about him too. I mean I don't really think he's trying to break free from anything, but he's certainly going through a very dark period.

He's simply immense, and even though he has built a reputation of being a brilliant comedian, I have always thought his dramatic acting is also godlike. His talent is undeniable and I hope he beats whatever he's wrestling with and emerges victorious.

Yeah, I think his acting ability is underrated and underappreciated. He's always been typecast as a comedian, and a lot of people who watched Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind were unable to process the idea of him being in a non-comedic role. Would've have loved to see him in another drama movie, as someone with a more layered and interesting character. I don't suppose that'll ever happen now.

John Cleese may be old now, but I found some of his work very funny when I was younger. For better or worse, he's contributed massively to British culture and humor.

i'm not someone who watches legit stand-up often, so most of my favorites are purely TV based although I also listen to a lot of comedians' podcasts that cover weekly topical events, I've noticed a lot of the new age guys do that

Larry David and Danny McBride are my favorites, LD for Curb Your Enthusiasm and McBride for basically everything he's ever been involved with..those two are my absolute locks..a third eh, toss-up between many, probably Eddie Murphy

Don't really like stand up comedy but Frankie Boyle is great. Dave Chapelle too.

The lack of Richard Pryor in here makes me realize just HOW young the average age on this forum really is

My 3,

3: KATT WILLIAMS-A man with more demons than a few. Has the best take down of a comedian ever on tape.


2.DON DC CURRY- My favorite comedian as a kid. Spent many nights crying from laughter watching him on BET.



1. REDD FOXX- Simply the king.

Are any of you familiar with Karl Pilkington? He's mostly known for being on the Ricky Gervais Show, and for his other collaborations with Ricky Gervais up until a few years ago. Karl is not a comedian. He is brutally honest, and unlike the vast majority of people in the western world, he's a grown man who has the thought process of a child. Since he hardly ever tries to be funny, he might not be everyone's cup of tea, but some of his ideas and comments are pure genius. The originality of the humor he unintentionally provides is absolutely brillliant, at times.

I do feel sorry for him, as he's a type of person who doesn't pick up on social queues, and it seems he doesn't quite understand how the world works and that Ricky and others are laughing at his expense, when all he wants to do is share his heartfelt thoughts and opinions on different subjects. It makes for a very special type of humor, though.

1. George Carlin
2. Dave Chapelle
3. Bill Hicks

Thimmy wrote:Are any of you familiar with Karl Pilkington? He's mostly known for being on the Ricky Gervais Show, and for his other collaborations with Ricky Gervais up until a few years ago. Karl is not a comedian. He is brutally honest, and unlike the vast majority of people in the western world, he's a grown man who has the thought process of a child. Since he hardly ever tries to be funny, he might not be everyone's cup of tea, but some of his ideas and comments are pure genius. The originality of the humor he unintentionally provides is absolutely brillliant, at times.

I do feel sorry for him, as he's a type of person who doesn't pick up on social queues, and it seems he doesn't quite understand how the world works and that Ricky and others are laughing at his expense, when all he wants to do is share his heartfelt thoughts and opinions on different subjects. It makes for a very special type of humor, though.

Karl's very much a comedian IMO. He may have started out that way but then, with the help of Ricky and those around him, realized he could make a decent living out of his brand of humour, IMO. Not that there's anything wrong with that - his timing and delivery is genius. I used to be obsessed with his show(s). Loved them, for some reason I stopped watching anything around him 6-7 years ago though. Went back and listened to all of the old stuff from his radio show with Gervais back in the day too. If he's still making those travel shows I may have to dive back in.

His brand of humor is basically him sharing his philosophical thoughts, though. I laughed hard when he said "a dog has got human eyes", or when he suggested that parrots have "gone a bit quiet since pirates died out" with a straight face, but you get the impression that the former statement was a subject that genuinely fascinated him when he said it, and evidently he bases a lot of his thoughts solely on his own, limited impressions of the world - like a child would. The concept of exposing such a person to the world outside the comfort of his residence in England, is all on Ricky.

Betty beat me to Richard Pryor. That man was ridiculously good at his craft. It's not stand up, but I watched Which Way is Up out of sheer boredom one night and was in stitches.

Anyway, my top 3:

1. Dave Chappelle
2. Richard Pryor
3. Aziz Ansari

The Demon of Carthage wrote:

guest7 wrote:Why does OP say no Kevin Hart in a top 3 favorite comedians?

Just a semi-humorous touch to lighten the mood. Please don't let it stop you from mentioning him if you really like him

Don't disrespect the GOAT of comedy

1. Ricky Gervais
2. Bill Burr
3. Louis CK

Honorable mentions: Kevin Hart, Jim Jeffries, John Mulaney, Nick Kroll, Jim Gaffigan

1. Bill Burr
2. Louis CK
3. Ehhh idk Mulaney, Bo Burnham, or George Carlin

Burr is incredible as a comic. One of the most naturally gifted comics I've ever seen

I thought these are worth mentioning, even though they don't come close to my aforementioned top 3:

1. Daniel Tosh: mean-spirited comedy and witty jokes. Example:

Daniel Tosh wrote:God does not hate gay people. He's just mad because they found a loophole in His system.

2. Anthony Jeselnik: Brutal, mean-spirited comedian. Example:

Anthony Jeselnik wrote:I've got a kid in Africa that I feed, clothe, school, and inoculate for 75 cents a day. Which is practically nothing compared to what it cost to send him there.

3. Owen Benjamin: power of delivery. I would post a joke of his here but most of them are quite long. You'd probably save more time watching on Youtube than reading a long joke here.

4. Andrew Schulz: Mostly sexual, but it's really well-written. Here's a rare non-sexual joke of his just to give you an idea of what to expect:

Andrew Schulz wrote:Egypt are a bunch of *bleep* liars. All of them. I'm supposed to believe 4000 years ago, you guys built the pyramids. And for the next 4000 years you built jack shit? Not happening.

You built the greatest thing ever created by human beings 4000 years ago. And then for the next 4000 years the best thing that you can create is cotton sheets? *bleep* you Egypt

Here's the entire bit in case you're interested:


Hope you guys enjoy and please don't shy away from letting us know about unknown comedians you think are good. This is what this thread is for.

Honorable mention for David Spade. Never actually seen him before but he's got such a perfect comedic timing I'm dying laughing like constantly.

Chapelle
Louis CK

Then a toss up between Bill Burr or Kevin Hart

From the late-night hosts shout out to Conan. The funniest. Every bit he does with Hart or Burr is hilarious too.