Ulquiorra wrote:I've been watching a lot of stand up comedy lately (Eddie Griffin, Chris Rock, Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart, Godfrey). I was wondering, who are the other top guys out there that I should watch? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
As far as some of the relatively high-profile guys go(I'm listing the "legends" first, and then dudes who are still producing new material):
Bill Hicks(RIP...his candle burned only for a short time, but it shone incredibly bright. Almost a philosopher. If you like Dennis Leary, you'll love Bill Hicks, since Leary stole his entire gorram act from him
George Carlin(RIP...a philosopher comic like Hicks. Carlin and Hicks are the two greatest comics of all time, IMO.)
Richard Pryor(RIP...almost every successful comic today credits Pryor as part of their inspiration. Kevin Hart called him the funniest man he's ever seen.)
Mitch Hedberg(RIP...the "Kurt Cobain" of comedy. Nobody did it quite like Mitch.)
Bill Cosby(a legend...mentioned alongside Pryor by a lot of comics in answer to the "who inspired you?" question. What more is there to say?)
Old-School Eddie Murphy(Raw/Delirious put Eddie Murphy in the Pantheon before he was 30 years old!)
Robin Williams(I wish he still did standup, because he's one of the funniest guys I've ever seen/heard/listened to.)
Jerry Seinfeld("I'm telling you for the last time" was a great show)
Louis CK(you can buy his specials at his website for only $5! Many call him the funniest man
alive today...already on a lot of peoples' "top 10 comics of all time" lists)
Bill Burr(Burr and CK are my two favorite comics right now. I LOVE Bill Burr. Check out his podcast too.)
Lewis Black(some people call him Carlin's spiritual successor. So angry and so, SO funny.)
Eddie Izzard(UK legend, incredibly witty and really unique. His "Dress to Kill" special is one of my all time favs)
Ricky Gervais (UK, absolutely hilarious guy, creator of "The Office"...his comedy straddles the line between offensive/uncomfortable but I think he's brilliant. Probably not the dude to watch if you're sensitive to religious humor. His podcast is hilarious.)
Jim Gaffigan(Hooooooooooooooooot Pockets)
Dave Attell(the man is a twisted genius)
Mike Birbiglia(this guy is the one of the most naturally talented "awkward storyteller" comedians I've ever seen)
Patton Oswalt ( anotherlongform storyteller type of dude)
I know many people also include Steve Martin, Lenny Bruce and Rodney Dangerfield in their "all-time" lists, but I haven't watched any of their material so I can't judge. Still, they're always mentioned as some of the best to ever pick up the mic, so check them out!
And then some of my favorites who haven't gotten as much recognition/haven't put out as much material as the dudes above:
Demetri Martin(his Comedy Central half-hour special is fantastic, as is his award-winning "If I" show. He's a Daily Show writer and he ended up getting his own show on Comedy Central, but I've never seen it.)
John Mulaney (his "New In Town" special is tremendous; one of the writers on SNL)
Dara O'Briain (UK, super intelligent dude and really talented comic)
Hannibal Burress (this guy is Louis CK's favorite comic right now, so that should tell you a lot. If Mitch Hedberg and Bernie Mac had a kid, it would be him)
Tig Notaro (her Taylor Dane story is one of my favorite bits of comedy ever)
Patrice O'Neal(RIP, one of the best to ever do standup)
Kumail Nanjiani (doesn't seem to have too many bits yet but the material he does have is awesome )
Russel Peters (I like his older stuff more than his newer stuff, but he's still great)
Bernie Mac(RIP) had a few great Def Jam sets. Martin Lawrence had some decent material as well.
Doug Stanhope(similar in style and content to Bill Hicks...not for everyone, as he's pretty dark/angry)
Frankie Boyle/Jimmy Carr(both UK)...really dark and offensive comedy if you like laughing with your face in your hands and going "oh my god I'm going to hell for laughing at that". Nobody can handle a heckler like Jimmy.
I know some people really like Aziz Ansari, but personally, I don't think his standup is anything special. He's a tremendously funny dude but for some reason it doesn't translate with his actual written material. A lot of my friends went to his show when he came to Phoenix and they said that the best parts of the show was when he was just riffing off the crowd; apparently that was way more enjoyable than his actual bits.
Oh...and as much as everyone loves to hate Dane Cook and proclaim him to be the worst thing ever, there's a reason why his first album("Harmful if Swallowed") went platinum, and his second album("Retaliation") went double-platinum. I've tried listening to his specials after that and they're pretty lame, but regardless of what everyone says now, his first two shows were immensely popular and well-received. He may be a two-hit wonder who sucks now, and he might be a total douchebro, but 7-10 years ago, Cook was on top of the game for a little while.
If you're into musical comedy:
Stephen Lynch. One of my favorite albums from him. Favorite songs: If I Were Gay , Vanilla Ice Cream ,She Gotta Smile , Ugly Baby , Beelz , Lullaby , For The Ladies , Special Olympics , Little Tiny Mustache , and so many more.
Tim Minchin. Some of my favorite songs: Prejudice , Inflatable You , Rock and Roll Nerd , You Grew On Me , Dark Side , Not Perfect , White Wine in The Sun , Storm , and again, so many more.
Bo Burnham(almost a hybrid of Stephen and Tim). His entire channel is gold. Really..."My Whole Family Thinks I'm Gay", "The Perfect Woman", "A Love Ballad", "Cookout", "3.14 Apple Pi"...they're all fantastic. "Words Words Words" is a fantastic album. A bootleg version of his new show "What" is on youtube.
Those three are all varying degrees of offensive, so be warned: if you like clean/inoffensive comedy, they're not for you.
Edited To Add:
I like this set by Ellen DeGeneres
This set by Kathy Griffin
Nate Bargatze
TJ Miller
