Pantheon
Criteria
- Gut-funny first, smart second
- Social depth matters (Carlin, Hicks) vs. funny without it (Jerry)
- Authentic, can't be anyone except who they are. Brokenness is one expression, not the only one (Sinbad)
- Never stopped taking risks, never settled into a safe persona
- True surprise, not surprise-but-not-a-surprise
- Vets that keep firing (Carlin, Attell)
- Never let your edge become your crutch (calling Lewis Black)
S-Tier β Shaped how I think
- George Carlin β angry prophet
- Bill Hicks β Texas jaw-dropper
- Eddie Murphy β the detonator, created the modern special
- Norm Macdonald β unapologetically absurdist truth-teller
- Monty Python β the collective that broke comedy itself
Deeply Loved β In my bones
- Stewart Lee β intellectual edgelord, deconstructs the joke itself
- Lee Mack β lightning-fast, sharp, never panders even on panel
- Eddie Izzard β true risk-taker, keeps reinventing
- Doug Stanhope β gut-funny, dark, lives in the desert, known by one name
- Sinbad β the whole person, generates heat without cracks
- Dave Chappelle β true surprise, supreme craftsman, does he have a high voice or a low voice?!?
- Roseanne Barr β unfiltered, refuses to be likable, dangerous
- Robin Williams β chaotically brilliant, terrifying speed
- Louis CK β darkly honest artist, points at hypocrisy by admitting his own
- Sam Kinison β screaming fallen preacher
- Lee Evans β manic, sweats through his suits, GOAT of physical comedy
- Steven Wright β mathematical oddity
- Mitch Hedberg - if Stanhope is the Comedian's Comedian Comedian, Mitch is the Comedian's Comedian
- Andy Kaufman - if Stanhope is the Comedian's Comedian Comedian, and Mitch is the Comedian's Comedian, Andy is Not Even a Comedian
Great Ones β Respected, but something keeps them from ranking higher
- Bill Burr β maybe he's run out of gas
- Chris Rock β master craftsman, polished/calculated, no visible cracks
- Dave Attell β ages like fine wine (or cheese)
- Ron White β we all know why Tater Salad is not higher, it's all the scotch
- Frankie Boyle β surprise but not surprise, predictably shocking
- Noel Fielding β extremely weird surrealist
- Jim Jefferies β legitimately something off about that guy
- Felipe Esparza β ex-cokehead, unpolished on purpose
Rising / Watch β Could climb
- Mark Normand β hits some very high notes of "comedy"
- Andrew Schulz β super smart and curious, edgy, hungry
- Akaash Singh β genuinely a weirdo, also super smart
- Shane Gillis β fearless, raw
- Daniel Sloss β too young for S, fearless
- Josh Johnson β unimitable
- Leslie Liao β craft-first technician, observations are punches
Too Charismatic / Talented, Too polished to be weirdos
- Tiffany Haddish β absolute talent
- Trevor Noah β brilliant, super smooth despite the race punchiness
- Jamie Foxx β can do everything, which is the problem
- Will Smith β maxx entertainer
Circling Around The All-Time Greats
- Chris Tucker β hilarious, more energy than funny
- Michele Wolf β risk of getting stuck in her comfortable niche
- Jo Koy, Kevin Hart β insanely good from early days
- Katt Williams β chaos incarnate
- Ronny Chieng β risk of becoming Temu Lewis Black, has much more depth though
- Ali Siddiq, Joey Diaz β storytelling GOATs
- Margaret Cho β fearlessly defiant and personal
- Bobby Lee β a walking open wound, force of nature
Not so much
- Ricky Gervais β his edge is too calculated
- Patrice O'Neal β more mean than funny
- Wanda Sykes β just doesn't hit my funny bone
- Gabriel Iglesias β Fluffy stays far away from the edge, performative cleanliness
- David Cross β quirky style doesn't land
- Russell Peters β was on a rocketship of freshness at one point, hasn't aged well, borderline hack, Uncle Roger is smarter
- Dylan Moran β wry observation substitutes for punching hard, less famous Irish comics show more energy