Stand-up comics are a dime a dozen. Whether a comic employs observational humor, scathing satire, clever irreverence, or anything in between — the ability to make people laugh always manages to resonate.
A recent Reddit thread posed the question: “Who are the best stand-up comics ever?” and the resulting discourse created a list that is composed of arguably 10 of the best ever to hold a microphone.
“There are very good comedians and then there is George Carlin. And almost none of the very good ones exist without him. Lenny Bruce laid a foundation and then George built two Hearst Mansions on top of that,” said on Redditor.
Many on Reddit rightfully gave Richard Pryor credit in a big way. One user wrote, “This is the correct answer. No one did more to advance the art form than Richard Pryor, period,” which is high-praise for a comic.
Nobody delivered a joke like Mitch Hedberg. He innovated a stand-up style that has stood the test of time – and we argue that his matter-of-fact delivery took his rather mundane jokes and made them legendary.
We have to be honest, we here at Wealth of Geeks weren't totally familiar with the stand-up comedy stylings of the late Billy Connolly, but a quick trip down a YouTube rabbit hole made us nod our heads in agreement with tons of users on Reddit: Billy Connolly was a national treasure.
While many people may be more familiar with Robin Williams' timeless films he starred in, he got his start in the stand-up world, and his inclusion on this list is completely warranted.