I like Russell Peters, Danny Bhoy and Dane Cook.
I hate to ‘me too’ but you have very nicely listed every single one of my fave comedians. Every single one. I mean, I have other favorites, but the ones you listed all make the top 10.
I second Patton Oswalt and Louis CK. Kevin Hart is hilarious, especially his “I’m a Grown Little Man” show.
Wow. Just watched the Bill Mayer youtube link and he says the words “I believe in God”. I know he was raised Catholic, but I didn’t realize he believed in god by the time he was a stand up comic.
From this side of the pond, I’ve got to say Dara O’Briain or Dylan Moran. Izzard is already a given, but his last tour wasn’t all that hot. (Mostly for fans, not a lot of new material.) I’m not sure if Frankie Boyle qualifies, but he can also be a gut-buster on a good day.
Not in the last decade, though.
Ha, this was awesome, thanks. I love Stewart Lee, because he can keep you going basically laugh-free (but still engaged) for minutes and minutes on end, and then all of a sudden you’re laughing so hard you can’t even breathe.
A lot of good names have already been mentioned (Gaffigan, Oswalt, Hedberg), so I’ll name two that haven’t yet: David Cross and Jim Norton.
And I’m very much shocked, nay, flabbergasted that someone actually recommended noted hack/perfect douchenozzle Dane Cook’s stand up comedy as anything approaching listenable. I guess you really do learn something new every day.
Very true, and his material often leaves you uncertain as to where he stands on an issue (until the payoff at least) and afterwards you do end up questioning your own thoughts, prejudices and assumptions.
Can’t resist posting another classic of histhe pope
And just so this isn’t a total Lee love-in, try Tim Minchin
I realize he is a polarizing choice, but I like him and I have found that those that do like him * really like him* and that those that don’t really hate him.
But since they asked for opinions, and I like him, I posted it.
Ralphie May’s “Just Correct” is my favorite stand up album/DVD of all time. It’s one of the few I can listen to over and over. It was recorded right after the Siegfield & Roy mauling.
“He’s a cat, a vicious animal, it was bound to happen. Your 4 pound pet cat wants to kill you, what do you think a 600 pound tiger would do? We asked the tiger for a comment - he tastes GRRREAT! You know though, there was some guy sitting there in the front row, his wife dragged him to the show, and he’s miserable as hell, thinking how he’d wish the tiger would just chow dow…HOLY SHIT!!! THIS IS THE BEST SHOW EVER!!!”
Hours after I posted I saw a commercial for a new Kathy Griffith special. I laugh at her. Her material only works if you’re aware of current pop culture. You don’t have to watch Gossip Girl, but you do have to know it exists. My husband has no clue about that stuff and so doesn’t find her as funny.
When should I break it to everybody that “Dress to Kill” came out in 1998 and would not be eligible for this poll?
We could reinterpret the thread title to mean “the decade prior to this one”, but that would render a lot of the other answers ineligible.
For many years I thought Kathy Griffin was Andy Dick in drag. Or possibly vice-versa.
Anyway, I’ll throw in a vote for Dave Attell, although the “Captain Miserable” set is not nearly as good as “Skanks for the Memories,” which is only on CD.
I love Attell and I have found that many comedians, when talking about comics working today that they admire, more often than not bring up Attell’s name.
Most of my favorites have been mentioned already, but here’s a short list of my favorites from the last 10 years:
Paul F. Tompkins - This guy took awhile to find his comedy voice and in the last couple-three years he’s really grown. His older stuff made me laugh, but the show he does now just absolutely kills me. His last CD, “Freak Wharf,” has three or four tracks at the beginning of him just riffing at the beginning of the show… not actual material. It’s remarkable how smart, quick, and witty he is. Also, his character work on the Comedy Death Ray Radio podcast (Dame Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber, Ice-T, John C. Reilly, Cake Boss) is perfection.
**Mitch Hedberg **- Because pineapple is next!
**Demetri Martin **- I’m not a big fan of his Comedy Central show, but his stand-up is so good. I was lucky enough to attend his CD recording a few years ago here in Chicago and it blew me away.
**Patton Oswalt **- One of the best writers in comedy today. His bit about KFC is amazing.
**Louis C.K. **- I saw a special of his in the 90s and absolutely hated him. I think his style has changed a lot since then and I really like him now. Did you know that he writes a new hour of material every year, and that he dumps all of his old jokes when he starts the new ones. I can’t even imagine how challenging that must be. Hell, Seinfeld keeps his jokes around for eons (until he retired a lot of them in “Telling You For the Last Time.”) Another thing about the way CK works is that he doesn’t really write the material he performs. He goes up on stage and just starts talking. Some works, some doesn’t, and he’ll keep the good stuff and include it in his hour.
**Mike Birbiglia **- I really love Birbigs. He works in the opposite way of CK in that he actually has an office and when he’s writing his show, he treats it like a 9 to 5 job. He goes to the office, sits, and writes all day. His new book, “Sleepwalk with Me” is really great and has a voice/feel very similar to David Sedaris’ work. In fact, with his connections to Ira Glass (he’s producing a film version of Birbiglia’s “Sleepwalk with Me” one-man show) and his guest-hosting of “The Moth,” I really believe that Birbiglia is heading down a similar path as Sedaris. I predict that in ten years or so, Birbiglia will no longer be doing “comedy” in the stand-up sense but will tour the country doing live readings of his writing to packed theaters like Sedaris does now.
Some others that I really like:
**Brian Posehn **- His “Angry Metal Head Ogre” act never gets old for me.
**Aziz Ansari **- RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANDY!!!
**Doug Benson **- Stoner comic though most of his stuff has nothing to do with weed. Love his “Doug Loves Movies” podcast.
**Omid Djalili **. I haven’t specifically seen his DVD but I’ve seen some of his stand-up routines on television (and his own sketch show) and he just kills me. Although he does play off his Iranian background (including fluently switching between a “foreign” accent and a plummy English one) he has a lot more to his routine than just playing the ethnic card.
Dara O’Briain. Big baldy Irish bloke. It’s the way he tells 'em.
As mentioned:
Chris Rock
Dane Cook
Russel Brand
There’s also Robin Williams : Live on Broadway
Must haves from the 90’s:
Jon Stewart : Unleavened
Dana Carvey : Critic’s Choice
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.