Sam Kinison and Andrew Dice Clay were good for their respective 15 minutes, but I don’t think they translate well over time. Maybe Kinison, but definitely not the Dice Man, too much a caricature of the times.
I like most of the people recommended. I would add Lewis Black and Lenny Bruce as having some really classic material. I feel obliged to mention Chris Rock, Chappelle and Seinfeld, but I feel like they should be stuff most people have already seen. I liked Denis Leary growing up. People say he stole from Bill Hicks. That may be true, but I still could never get into Hicks. In general, just go to a list of the best comedians and get their best albums or performances that you haven’t heard.
And as far as (relatively) new guys go, I like Tosh. He’s a pretty smart dude.
Dylan Moran
A lot of the greats have been mentioned already. I’ll add Brian Regan to the mix.
I really want to see bchad live.
I haven’t done stand-up in a while; I’ve traded it for argentine tango - healthier food, better exercise, and more attractive women that you get to hold close for 3-15 minutes at a time and who love it. This, versus sitting around drinking beer, eating greasy bar food, and women who typically make jokes about not being able to get dates (some are cute, but the average attractiveness is clearly lower than the dancing crowd).
But I wouldn’t mind trying to put together some new material if I can find the time.
As for me, I really like Eddie Izzard, Chris Rock, Louis CK, and Ron White. I used to like Lewis Black a lot: I still do, but I feel he’s kinda stalling for material. If I could only watch one comic for the rest of my life, it would probably be Eddie Izzard. I don’t really get the cross-dressing bit, but it does allow him to make people laugh just by doing faces. He doesn’t try to look feminine when he has dresses and stuff on, and so it’s just this weird crunch of stereotypes that helps warm up the funny bone.
I never found him all that great, but I was at a sushi place 89th and 2nd this Sunday and Jackie Mason sat down at the very next table with friends. He was looking kinda frail, but the neon red dyed hair looked straight out of the synthetic 50s.
dressed to kill is really funny.
He may be smart but his comedy act sucks ass. He is just not funny.
Same with many comics who have a show on Comedy Central. And Sarah Silverman.
I used to like Dennis Miller before he went all patriotic Fox-Newsy on us after 9/11.
Now THAT is funny
I don’t like Tosh (or Sarah Silverman): he takes sixth grade humor, adds a laugh track, and calls it comedy because its on tv.
Tosh’s show sucks but his stand up material is good.
If these are your boys, I have a feeling I’ll be dissapointed. I’m still curious to hear your act.
hmmm. I never bothered to watch because I first heard about him because of his show and figured his standup would be more of the same. I am prepared to change my mind if that’s not true and the standup material is good after all.
Check his “Completely Serious” special. You can find it on You Tube.
Tosh is awful. He does sound smart so I’ll give him that, but his stand up is just awful.
Daniel Tosh (I actually think he is hilarious; his sense of humour is right up my alley)
David Chappelle
Greg Giraldo
^ Giraldo is another good one. Gone way too soon. May he rest in peace.
Bill O’Reilly - sort of creepy funny
Jim Gaffigan is hilarious