Comedy news: The top lists of top lists of comedy

Billy Connolly was crowned the top British comedian in a poll by Dave today. It’s vaguely curious, but interesting first and foremost for being full of OLD. Without taking anything away from the Big Yin and his co-listees, is Sean Lock really the only influential stand-up who’s emerged in the last twenty years? How many of them are influential rather than just well-known?

Anyway, our general point is that lists of the funniest comedians of all combinations and ages have been compiled since Bob Monkhouse cracked his first joke (1843) and there are better ones out there. Here’s our rundown of the best.

10. Top 50 British Sitcoms (BBC Two, 2004)

Basically a workaday rundown of what has become G.O.L.D.’s schedule. Only Fools and Horses at number one (YAWN), followed by Blackadder and the Vicar of Dibley. You know a list that lets Goodnight Sweetheart in at 50 was running short of shows, although congrats on letting Birds of a Feather in. WHERE IS HONEY FOR TEA?

9. Top ten comedians of 2011 (The Sun, 2011)

This rundown of 2011 reads like a list of comedians who’ve performed some sort of abrupt right-turn in their life in recent years: Terry Alderton, Mickey Flanagan, Sarah Millican. Ignore where this was published: it’s a sensitive rundown that’s worth a look at who’s making it in to the public’s consciousness at the moment.

8. Top 100 Standups (Comedy Central, 2004)

Comedy tends not to travel across boundaries so if you’ve ever wondered what’s big in the States, this is the list for you. It hits up the classics (Richard Pryor at one, followed by George Carlin, Lenny Bruce and Woody Allen) and eschews stadium comedians like Dane Cook. Odd exceptions to that rule: Roseanne Barr’s at number nine. The only Brit on the list is Eddie Izzard at 75.

7. Top Ten Best Stand-Up Comedians of All Time (Guyism, 2010)

Okay, so we needed some padding to get to ten lists and this US-list contains no surprises (Bill Hicks at one), but gosh it’s a very nicely put together website isn’t it. 

6. Top ten comedians of the decade (Paste, 2009)

Another US list but one that fills in some crucial gaps: for a start, Mitch Hedberg is here, which is more than Comedy Central’s top 100 list manages. Eugene Mirman and David Cross also make the cut, with Dave Chappelly at number one.

5. Time Out reader’s Top Ten comedians (2008)

Time Out readers tend to be an urbane lot, and this list blends the usual suspects (Bailey, Kay) with Janey Godley at three, Daniel Kitson at four, and Terry Saunders at nine. Gervais is at one, Stewart Lee at two. WISE.

4. Best comedy albums of 2011 (AV Club, 2011)

You’re probably thinking, gosh, that’s a bit specific, but the tighter the topic being polled and the smaller the group (this polled just eight writers), the better the results. Current US fav Louis CK came top, with Patton Oswalt and isn’t-it-nice-everyone-loves-him-at-the-moment Marc Marron filling out the top three. Also also: MICHAEL IAN BLACK at eight. Read this list. 

3. Top ten female comedians (The Observer, 2010)

If lists tend to overlook the young, they outright ignore women, so The Observer put together a list of the top ten female comedians in 2010. A fine list it is as well, running from grand dames Victoria Wood and Joan Rivers to then-up and coming talent Sarah Millican and Josie Long. ONE PROBLEM: there’s no arbitrary ordering of them. HOW ARE SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHO TO LIKE? Bonus female gathering: 53 funny women, from the Huffington Post.

2. The Comedian’s Comedian (Channel 4, 2005)

Peter Cook topped a poll of comedians to find their favourite comedian in 2005, followed by John Cleese (tenner says he wouldn't even make the top ten if this list was done again now), Woody Allen and Eric Morecambe. The space on the list for old timers like Groucho Marx and Laurel and Hardy would suggest, however, that Paul Merton just rigged the vote. Full list on Chortle. 

1. 100 Greatest Stand-Ups (Channel 4, 2007 and 2010)

From Freddy Starr at number 100 to Billy Connolly again at number one, Channel 4 gave their countdown a whopping four hours to do the countdown justice. 150,000 people contributed to the poll (versus 2,000 in Dave’s) which was first conducted in 2007 and updated in 2010, and it’s a nice example of the wisdom of crowds – the top five features Richard Pryor, Ricky Gervais, Bill Hicks and Eddie Izzard. The original edition is all on YouTube, usefully.

IMPORTANT UPDATE ALERT: SSP Tim has pointed out this rather tremendous piece he wrote about the Channel 4 list from 2010, which uses EVIDENCE and COMPREHENSIVENESS to make a mockery of arbitrary lists like this one we just wrote. What's that sound? That's irony, clunking it's way all over the face of this page.

*sigh*