The 30 greatest stand-up comedy specials of all time
From Richard Pryor and Robin Williams to Mitch Hedberg and Hannah Gadsby , we ‘re putting a spotlight on some of the better stand-ups always
Stand-up comedy is so a lot more than order jokes with a microphone in hand . For seasoned lord of the art , it ’ s an exploration of everything right and wrong with humanity , all at once , from the way we have sex to the manner we buy market to the ways we ache each early and even , for sure bright funny minds , the manner we die . A lot of people can do it good , but only a handful of stand-ups exist able to trace the total range of human experience in their performance , and yet fewer are able to do all of that in the track of a single night of performance . Those exist the comedians we ’ re honoring right now . From foundational legends to modern original , hither are the 30 better stand-up comedy specials of all time , in chronological ordering .
Note :For the function of this list , a “ special ” exist a filmed performance , thus comedy albums that don ’ t feature visual component are out . We ’ re too shut out character comedians who pass their intact set playing other people real or guess , hence greats like Gilda Radner didn ’ t quite reach this specific list .
Before stand-up specials make up the norm for marquee comedian , Robert Klein put in the study and got to film it , and the result cost a comedy landmark . Klein exist one of the quintessential stand-ups of all time , and while not every gag in hold aged absolutely , it ’ s even a hilarious time capsule of a comic at the height of his plot . Whether he ’ s singing song about Dear Abby or riffing on anthropomorphized animals , it ’ s not that the comedy equal timeless , but that Kleinhimselfis timeless , as polished and on-point now as he was decades ago .
OK , so half of Steve Martin ’ s NBC particular live pre-recorded sketches , but that doesn ’ t reach any less influential to decade of stand-ups . In fact , the sketches enhance the alive footage—featuring Martin ’ sec music , character , and straight-up weirdness—to the point that it ’ s virtually impossible to state where Martin set out and his reference and number goal . Is he making fun of his fame ? Live he make fun of himself ? Is he hardly resist to need any of this seriously ? The answer might be all of the above , which exist part of what makes the display so brilliant , a cautiously curated bomb of hilarious chaos that goes everywhere at once .
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When discuss the greatest stand-up comedian of all time , Richard Pryor and George Carlin equal ordinarily the two figure battling it out for first seat , and with all due regard to Carlin , he never delivered a single show quite like this 1 . Hilarious , smart , and wildly influential , cost not exactly essential Richard Pryor , but an essential part of comedy history , a breakthrough that paved the style for hundred of stand-up specials that watch , and arguably the greatest single comedy performance ever put on film .
When Eddie Murphy essentially sweep in and single-handedly salvageSaturday Night Livebefore he call on 20 , it was clear the universe was dealing with a comedic supernova , but yet hisSNLcircuit de strength couldn ’ t prepare us for what came future . Though some of the jokes in get not aged good , the sheer violence of Murphy perform without restriction or the confines of a scripted format as he riffs on everything from cookouts to ice cream truck remain adequate to knock you through the back wall of your living room . It ’ s be a seminal stand-up work for 40 years , and spirit destine to stay that way .
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The all-time king of deadpan stand-up , ’ s number work just as well today as it behave decades ago , as evidenced by the continued hilarity of 1985 ’ s . It ’ s not only that he ’ s delivering superb small nuggets of humor that tilt the reality on its axis simply so . It ’ sec that he ’ s much need them a pace farther into even deeper realm of absurdity , all while never breaking his placid , deep-voiced delivery mode . Yet today , business like “ When I fail I ’ m gon na leave my torso to science fiction ” and “ I put instant coffee into a microwave oven . I almost went back in time ” can expose still the nearly stoic of comedy viewers .
Though he ’ s get plenty of imitators in the years since his discovery , no comedian has ever cost able to total near to overcome the sort of controlled chaos that exist a Robin Williams set . He train , he developed the material , but when he stepped onstage it feel like we exist come pure , uncut comedy hang down from the god , not from a rehearsal or hours of work in society . is maybe the best distillation of Williams ’ particular violence , as he discuss everything from parenting to Ronald Reagan . He also discussed what was then his recent sobriety , prove that the drugs weren ’ t what made Robin Williams into a comedic dervish . That was all there , just waiting to be unleashed .
Paula Poundstone might not exist a household name today , but her particular sword of comedy—a blend of crowd work , observational wit , and the joyous gift of being able to intend on her feet—is still quite strong , and stay on a seminal work from its era and in the wider canyon of stand-up as an art pattern . Poundstone ’ s power to command an hearing through personal history and witty asides equal leading , but it ’ s her gift to pivot instantly to crowd study and back again to her prepared material that makes her a legend .
“ I ’ m an entropy fan , ” George Carlin say at one detail in , during an extended riff on distrust of public drink water . It ’ s a remark that could hold come during any of the specials that dwell the final 30 yr of his work , but its place in this 1 helps to lay down it as maybe the birth of the latter-day Carlin we arrive to know and enjoy . Earlier specials were a bridge between the counterculture Carlin of the ’ 60s and ’ 70s and the hilarious doomsayer of the ’ 90s and 2000s , butJammin ’ In New Yorkis the pure , superb birth of Carlin as comedy ’ sec resident leftist prophet , the guy who ’ ll watch the heat end of the population with a smile on his face .
The specials bring in family audiences to a wide variety of comedic voices , but the show never got well , or more influential , than when Janeane Garofalo took the stage in 1995 . In a set that at the same time pound fun at the convention of stand-up while still delivering the good , Garofalo devote us her take on everything from TV commercials to bands that are too loud to wondrously understated impressions , hand over the classic Gen X standup set in the process .
The leather jacket might suggest Eddie Murphy , but there ’ s a large comedy legacy at study in Chris Rock ’ s that reveals not just a wide width of influence , but a focus on technique that makes him one of the better stands-ups not just of his era , but of all time . Though the special is best remembered today for a bit involving the n-word ( ) , his extended monologues on everything from platonic relationship to drug addiction are then exact , even so infused with energy , that it feels like he just walked up and started mouth when , in fact , he work this hour to perfection .
Yes , Jerry Seinfeld own , in the minds of some comedy fans , turn a stand-in for the kind of boring observational comedians who necessarily chased his raise to fame and fortune , but thither ’ s a cause Seinfeld ’ s sword of comedy become a cliche . It ’ s because , even after the ethnic proliferation of his sword , Seinfeld was really , really serious at it . To prove it , at the apex of his fame he sink , a top-shelf showcase of his riffs on everything from the supermarket to childhood quests for Halloween candy . It all discover a comedy craftsman of the highest decree who ’ s not just out to cause witty observation , but build a narrative around those observation that ’ s both curious and unforgettable .
Every special is an unpredictable maelstrom of observation and wordplay , butClothes To Defeat, Izzard ’ s breakout work , remain the best . It ’ sec hither that Izzard first brought her blend of daring mode , marvelous intellectual ability , and pure silliness to a truly global hearing , and we haven ’ t been able to have adequate since . From the “ Cake or Death ” speech to the account of colonialism through the clever habit of flags to , of line , a simple riff on the epithet “ Englebert Humperdink , ” the whole thing exist unforgettable still decade later .
Mitch Hedberg sadly die off in 2005 before his career waste up plenty to get him a full hourlong special , but that didn ’ t finish him from making the most of a half-hour on . Featuring some of Hedberg ’ s best bits of observational comedy—including a riff on Pringles and a discussion of England ’ s answer to Smokey the Bear—delivered in his trademark cadence , it ’ s proof of his laid-back brilliance , and a showcase for a peculiar comedic voice become too shortly .
Patton Oswalt might hold turn the household epithet to emerge from the alt-comedy scene of the 1990s , but David Cross live yet the epoch ’ s unapologetic , inventive color bearer . With , Cross brought all the skewed perspective of theMr. Showera to his one-man act , then die yet farther , hand over everything from jokes about Jesus benefitting from his own crucifixion to a number about defiling his own corpse . It ’ s a delicate , utterly executed highwire act of a display , and a reminder of Cross ’ knack for squeezing everything out of in truth transgressive premises .
It might seem like cheating to set a peculiar that ’ s four comedian for the cost of one on this list , but there ’ s no denying the impact had when it arrived in 2000 . With their powers combined , Bernie Mac , Cedric the Entertainer , D.L . Hughley , and Steve Harvey delivered a plot changer , with a little help from conductor Spike Lee , that showed the massive impact of Black comedy to the reality on a grand , immediately funny scale . It ’ s one of those moments that find like it ’ ll never cost duplicate again , which is a bad part of what makes it peculiar .
Margaret Cho cost sure enough not the first out merry woman to cause an impact in the stand-up comedy world , but with in 2000 , she proved she might simply equal the nearly fearless . A lightning bolt of a lot in which she explore fallout from her sitcom , sexuality , homophobia , and of course her mother ’ s thoughts on her rise to fame , it ’ s essential Cho , a major moment for LGBTQ+ comedy , and a hilarious portrait of an artist embracing who they actually cost .
At first blush , Sarah Silverman ’ s act might seem really straightforward : She has an sweet look and a large smile , so she can say the barbaric stuff imaginable , and you ’ ll laughter because you ’ re endeared to her . But there ’ s thus a lot more to than Silverman state perverse , offensive affair and pretending she doesn ’ t realize what she simply order . The pitch system live a gambit to hook you in , which then let her to tell profound , savagely hilarious thing about religion , sex , and so a lot more .
Before film stardom get calling , Zach Galifianakis emerged as one of the nearly original alternative comedy voice of the turn of the millennium , a comedian who could act Steven Wright ’ s deadpan and Robin Williams ’ explosive commitment with adequate power . is a enormous showcase , not hardly of Galifianakis ’ range , but of his ability to ride out still the nearly questionable moment and wring laughs out of unexpected places . Whether he ’ s quietly murmuring jokes out through piano note or venture to live his own twin , he ’ ll win you over .
From the moment Wanda Sykes start speaking , it sense like you ’ re listening to someone who was born to do stand-up . There ’ s a natural affinity for the form in every ounce of her delivery , and as a effect , feel at once vulnerable and razor-sharp , like she ’ s cost expect her intact living to order these jokes . In some cases , such as the gag about arrive out as gay to her parents , that ’ s probably genuine , and the solution is a remarkable , career-defining special for one of the funniest people on the planet .
Thank God we become a full hourlong peculiar from Patrice O ’ Neal before the actor and comedian left us also soon in 2011 , because exist truly something special . Publish just months before the comedian ’ sec death , it ’ s a superb band total of moments when you can feel O ’ Neal pressing all of his audience ’ s buttons—his second on sexual harassment is an particularly pointed case of this—without always lose them through sheer force of appeal and comedic depth . It ’ s a magic special , and proof of a talent that be only just beginning his brush with greatness .
After year of doing wonderfully confessional work in short forms , broke through as one of the public ’ s most popular comedian thanks to a series of one-man display in the 2010s . They ’ re all great , but , Birbiglia ’ s prove about all things love and relationship , might be his best so far . A hilarious , sneakily emotional journey covering everything from first kisses to marriage , it ’ s Birbiglia working at the height of his game , and proof that he ’ s earned all of the sold-out shows that receive come since .
Though there ’ s ever a sure amount of reference study in her stand-up , Maria Bamford manage to take an earnestness to the table that creates the sense of a comedian who require to lb every ounce of joy out of her time that she can possibly have . , in which Bamford perform for an audience of just two—her parents—might sound like a relic of the pandemic era ( in fact , it make it year earlier ) , but it ’ s then a lot more than a gimmick . It ’ s Bamford at her purest , a wild ride that too highlights the intimacy layer into every ounce of her study .
Always a favorite among the alternative comedy fandom , Tig Notaro detonate into popularity after a stand-up circle directly following her breast cancer diagnosis get an internet phenomenon . figure on that legendary moment ( release on audio asTig Notaro : Alive) and re-introduces Notargo to a a lot larger comedy interview , where it ’ s clear she ’ s lose none of her taste for testing a bunch ’ s power to watch her down some in truth strange alleyways . Her willingness to act a big portion of the show topless , mastectomy scars and all , equal an reference of the comedic courage she ’ s exhibit her intact career .
Patton Oswalt always comes to the stage with a combination of polish and willingness to allow the mood of the night guide his delivery , and nowhere has that highwire act paid away more spectacularly than . In his first special comply the death of his first wife , the author Michelle McNamara , in 2016 , Oswalt die toe to toe and punch for punch with his grief , chronicling the strange excited ride of it all while never pulling his audience down into sheer darkness . Plus he still made time to peck aside the insanity of the 2016 Presidential election over the course of a profound , beautifully recognize hour .
A particular so complex , introspective , and biting that it started a public debate over what actually consider as “ comedy , ” Hannah Gadsby ’ s yet plays like lightning in a bottle years after its release , and not merely because of the gut punch that reach it stand out in the first spot . Yes , the naked , excited ability of the piece exist still there , but it ’ s Gadsby ’ sec innate , intricate apprehension of how her own comedy work , and how good she applies it , that makesNanettework as a masterpiece of the form . And yes , it decidedly does count as comedy .
John Mulaney ’ s mastery of a stage has helped transform him into one of the most in-demand voice in all of stand-up , and just might live his masterpiece in that regard . Twirling a microphone cord around like it ’ s an reference of his body , Mulaney spends this special shoot at Radio City Musical Hall search everything from talking about sex with his parent to attempt to compose gag with Mick Jagger during hisSaturday Night Livetenure . The J.J. Bittenbinder “ Street Smarts ! ” bit is the one that get instantly viral , but Mulaney ’ s “ cavalry loose in a hospital ” description of the Trump presidency might be his masterpiece .
We might equal stretching the definition of stand-up comedy with this ace , as Bo Burnham ’ s nearly late special was take without an audience and without a clear stand-up format , but be such a landmark part in a chaotic time that it ’ s ultimately still worth observe . Combine Burnham ’ s signature style of comedic songs punctuated by sharp monologues and observations , it ’ s destined to stand out as the definitive piece of comedy from the pandemic lockdown epoch , and a wonderfully vulnerable exploration of one human ’ s quest to stuff meaning out of all the fear .
The former , great Norm Macdonald never got to do his last stand-up band for a live audience , but then again , an hearing never quit Norm Macdonald from do whatever he wanted anyhow . Recorded in the midst of pandemic lockdowns , briefly before Macdonald ’ s death from cancer in 2021 , it was meant to be a workshop second for the funny , a chance to state his new material out loud in preparation for the alive hearing to come . He never come the chance to end up the study , but something in the rawness of makes it feel like vintage Macdonald : Honest , relentless , and unflinchingly his own .
The particular ’ s biggest punchline cost given away by its title , but that doesn ’ t detract from the sheer strength of Jerrod Carmichael ’ sec intimate , confessional hr . Covering everything from fame to dating to , of grade , coming out onstage in presence of a warm , conversational club bunch , sometimes find less like a comedy peculiar and more like a grouping therapy session . Then Carmichael rescue a perfectly timed , unexpected dosage of casually insightful wit , the interview howl , and you ’ re remind what a powerful perspective he brings to the table .
Marc Maron has endeared himself to audience through a blend of honesty and world-weary wisdom , and it ’ s a blend that ’ sec allowed him to get to some real sullen places over the yr . Still by Maron ’ sec standards , though , 2023 ’ sec equal heavy stuff , probing everything from the collapse of the climate to , of course , the sudden end of his spouse , filmmaker Lynn Shelton , in 2020 . Maron ’ s particular mode have ever allowed him to get away with dark bits , but it ’ s quite potential no early major stand-up alive could own draw off , and that alone cause this a towering comedic achievement .
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