# Best stand-up comedy acts of the last decade? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 27, 2010, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517 "2010-10-27T14:22:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/61 "2010-10-28T16:33:38Z")
> [@pancakes3](#): > > as it is with everything that strongly polarized, dane cook’s greatness/suckiness is greatly exaggerated by the two sides. comedians hate him because he got his start on myspace, didn’t pay his dues, and panders to his audience pretty hard. this has trickled down to some “comedy snobs” (bizarre combination of words) to echo the sentiment that cook’s a hack, etc. > > then the other camp that likes him because he embodies “that friend you had who’s really funny and people suggest he becomes a comedian all the time” x 1000000. His observations aren’t groundbreaking, and his delivery is exaggerated, sure… but it’s still funny right? Pretty quotable. Outlandish situations that still tie in relevantly somehow? > i personally think he’s pretty funny. he’s not bright, clever, or edgy by any means. However, that’s no reason to hate him. Ah - he’s the American version of [Michael Mcintyre](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Es2l4yUBY6M). Funny but in a banal, hackneyed way that makes other comedians hate him. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/62 "2010-10-28T16:40:58Z")
I can’t believe the first time I posted in this thread I forgot to mention [Aziz Ansari](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpgmVqWikqM). His _Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening_ is one of the best standup DVDs I’ve seen in ages. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/63 "2010-10-28T17:10:57Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > I can’t believe the first time I posted in this thread I forgot to mention [Aziz Ansari](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpgmVqWikqM). His _Intimate Moments for a Sensual Evening_ is one of the best standup DVDs I’ve seen in ages. Just stay away from Human Giant, that show was fucking terrible. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/64 "2010-10-28T18:04:28Z")
Regarding Dane Cook, the first thing I saw of his was a 30 minute Comedy Central Presents. The act was very physical, he was clearly giving all of his energy and I laughed. He started to have more success, and do films. When his Tourgasm show aired I watched exactly once. Cook came across as a very unpleasant person who treated everyone around him shabbily. It really colored my perception of his comedy. Then I started to be aware of the grumblings about joke stealing. It put me off him completely. Who am I to judge though. His career obviously hasn’t suffered without my support. ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/65 "2010-10-28T19:00:31Z")
I haven’t seen [Nick Swardson](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAKVTX4Q3aw) or [Russel Howard](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBDKcjZI6DE) mentioned yet. ---
**Author:** ![funnycomedianchick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ee59a6/32.png) [@funnycomedianchick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/funnycomedianchick)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/66 "2010-10-28T19:10:40Z")
tie, between d. davis and a coupla female comedians on utube ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/67 "2010-10-28T19:25:57Z")
> [@funnycomedianchick](#): > > tie, between d. davis and a **coupla female comedians on utube** (Looks at username) …you? ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/68 "2010-10-28T19:31:49Z")
Lending support to some already mentioned: Jim Gaffigan Patton Oswald Brian Regan Dave Attel George Carlin (RIP) Lots of good ones out there but these guys will give you a ton of material to laugh at. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/69 "2010-10-28T19:42:10Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > When should I break it to everybody that “Dress to Kill” came out in 1998 and would not be eligible for this poll? If you can time travel back to before post #31, go for it. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/70 "2010-10-28T20:15:49Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > Mitch Hedberg. I saw [him](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitch_hedberg#Death) perform once at a comedy club in Tampa, shortly before he OD’d. He was so strung out he was reading his jokes out of a three-ring binder. He still got the laughs, and there’s really no other measure of success here, but, still . . . Somebody should have explained to him: “Mitch! You’re unclear on the basic principle here! Your material is funnier when the **audience** is stoned!” ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/71 "2010-10-28T20:24:57Z")
> [@Munch](#): > > If you can time travel back to before post #31, go for it. That’s what I get for posting from my mobile while commuting in the morning. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2010, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/72 "2010-10-28T23:41:45Z")
You guys have convinced me to pick up a Stewart Lee DVD, what should I get? Stand Up Comedian [2005] 90s Comedian [2006] 41st Best Stand Up Ever [2008] Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle [2009] If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One [2010] ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/73 "2010-10-29T00:41:47Z")
The only one of those that I’ve seen is 90s Comedian, but it is _awesome_. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 9:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/74 "2010-10-29T09:20:02Z")
> [@Tahssa](#): > > I haven’t seen > […] > [Russel Howard](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBDKcjZI6DE) > > mentioned yet. That’s because Russell Howard stinks. To be slightly more charitable, he has funny jokes but is awful at telling them. If he just stopped laughing at his own jokes and cut out the follow-up comments whenever he made one, he might actually be good. As is, he’s got a class-clown persona that just comes across as being immature. ---
**Author:** ![Manwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e480ec/32.png) [@Manwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Manwich)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/75 "2010-10-29T10:19:54Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys have convinced me to pick up a Stewart Lee DVD, what should I get? > > Stand Up Comedian [2005] > 90s Comedian [2006] > 41st Best Stand Up Ever [2008] > Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle [2009] > If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One [2010] Fuck, that is a difficult choice. You can watch a lot of his stuff on Youtube, so maybe\* If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One.\* The skits in Comedy Vehicle are mostly bad, so maybe avoid that. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2010, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/76 "2010-10-29T10:37:01Z")
I like **Ross Noble** , and **Dara O’Briain**. But their accents may be a little too thick for the average American to navigate, even those who are familiar with Eddie Izzard or Stephen Fry. ---
**Author:** ![carm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c2a13f/32.png) [@carm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carm)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/77 "2010-10-30T23:02:32Z")
Here’s a great [Dara O’Briain](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIaV8swc-fo) clip. Accent shouldn’t be too hard to understand, compared to some other Irish comics. Also, while his tv program is an absolute _travesty_, [Demitri Martin’s](http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/c54eaf5b89/demetri-martin-the-jokes-with-guitar-from-mike) actual stand up is hilarious. Very Mitch Hedberg-esque. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2010, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/78 "2010-10-31T17:50:11Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > And just so this isn’t a total Lee love-in, try [Tim Minchin](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frNpdG4F9mw) Very nice call. Sentimental, but funny. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dg3PberzvXo/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AHOBYACoAOKAgwIABABGE4gJyh_MA8=&rs=AOn4CLADlFWB8J0boIGbnt2MGFh2oknp1g "Not Perfect by Tim Minchin") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dg3PberzvXo) ---
**Author:** ![amanset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/8dc957/32.png) [@amanset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amanset)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/79 "2010-11-01T01:05:54Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > You guys have convinced me to pick up a Stewart Lee DVD, what should I get? > > Stand Up Comedian [2005] > 90s Comedian [2006] > 41st Best Stand Up Ever [2008] > Stewart Lee’s Comedy Vehicle [2009] > If You Prefer A Milder Comedian Please Ask For One [2010] comedy Vehicle is a tv series. To be honest I found it quite disappointing. He often broke into a “repeat something again and again and again and again so it becomes funny” loop that just didn’t work for me. Whe he isn’t doing that I think he is good, but it really grated for me in that series. Pity, because back in the day I loved the Lee and Herring shows. Good call on whoever it was that said Dylan Moran. Russell Brand’s tv show Ponderland is well worth a watch. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2010, 3:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517/80 "2010-11-01T03:20:21Z")
Jeff Dunham is funny as hell. Just ask Peanut or Walter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-stand-up-comedy-acts-of-the-last-decade/558517.md?page=5)