It’s impossible to make a ‘Definitive List’ of comedian rankings. There’s always going to be comedians that you like and ones that you don’t, based on your own background/experience/feelings. Certain people will just ‘speak’ to you. But since I always make this list in my head when I hear a new comic (as every one time yeshiva guy does), here’s goes:
Hilarious: Dave Attell, Brian Regan, Greg Giraldo, Dave Chappelle
Classic: Chris Rock, Louis C.K., Kathleen Madigan, Jackie Mason, George Carlin, Ellen DeGeneres, Ray Romano, Jim Gaffigan, Jerry Seinfeld
Very Funny: Natasha Leggero, Joe Rogan, Russel Peters, Kumail Nanjiani, Mike DeStefano, Gabriel Iglesias, Myq Caplan, Stephen Lynch, Daniel Tosh, Jim Carrey, Joan Rivers, Maria Bamford, Patton Oswalt, Mike Birbiglia, Larry The Cable Guy, Demetri Martin, Kyle Ceese, Bill Burr, David Cross, Steven Wright, Doug Stanhope, Dwayne Perkins
Funny: Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Sarah Silverman, Whitney Cummings, Nick DePaolo, Bill Engvall, Lewis Black, Ricky Gervais, Richard Jeni, Woody Allen, Sinbad, Rodney Dangerfield, Frank Caliendo, Jim Breuer, Jimmy Kimmel, Jeff Foxworthy
Sometimes Funny: Margaret Cho, Mitch Hedberg, Billy Connolly, Bill Hicks, Carlos Mencia, Norm MacDonald, Robert Klein, John Pinette
Entertaining: Robin Williams, Pablo Francisco
Hackneyed/Old: Denis Leary
Just Not Funny: Dane Cook
Notes on the list:
-Everyone ‘Funny’ and up is actually funny, like A+ to B+.
-Some people are moving positions, up or down. Dave Atell’s latest CD wasn’t ‘Hilarious’, so he’s still riding his first one (it was that good). Ricky Gervais used to be ‘Very Funny’. And Kumail Nanjiani will probably be ‘Hilarious’ soon.
-To be ‘Hilarious’, you need to A) have a unique and perfect act (material, timing, presentation), and B) have some genius bits. If you have one of those, but not the other, you’re either ‘Classic’ or ‘Very Funny’.
-I left off the ‘old greats’ who broke ground in their day, but aren’t very funny anymore.
I know I probably left off a bunch that I just can’t think of, so if you have any suggestions, let me know and I’ll add them to the list.
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