This post was inspired by my daughter. We were talking in the car and I started doing a rap about how you make lists to get your magazine/newspaper/radio show/unemployed dad noticed – and then I decided I would make a “Top Comedy Albums of 2014” type list.
If you are stumbling across this list, I was VP Comedy & Entertainment for SiriusXM for 10 years before they eliminated that position earlier this year, so I have an affinity for this stuff, and it has been nice to see some people that have been on my radar crack through and have tremendous success.
So I started the list, and rather than make a Top 10 or whatever round number I just stopped when I stopped. I’ve attached a spotify playlist for you to listen, and I started at #1 because why not lead with the best.
1. Hannibal Buress – Live From Chicago
Let’s not get distracted by the Bill Cosby thing which I will address in a second. This guy is hilarious. From the first time I saw him in a small club in Chicago I could tell he was it. Absolutely hilarious, and another in a long list of folks I wanted to hire if only we had had a little budget for development.
As for the Cosby thing. Hannibal has addressed it in that it’s not like he went out of his way to destroy Cosby. Some folks with smartphones filmed the bit and it went viral. Hannibal is so so so much more than the Cosby Guy so hopefully it doesn’t distract from his talent.
2. Weird Al – Mandatory Fun
I played the bejesus out of this this summer. Never mind the jokes, just as music it’s a great album. I chose the Lorde parody for this playlist because the second verse is so so so warped and I didn’t see it coming. It demonstrates the difference between what the local morning DJ does and why Al is Hall of Fame.
Those were my Top 2 for sure, and in that order.
This next group are a bunch of folks that are really funny, been around a few years and deserve to be more famous.
Hari Kondabolu – Waiting for 2042
Myq Kaplan – Small, Dork and Handsome
Tommy Johnagin – Stand Up Comedy 3
Dan St Germain – Bad At The Good Times
And one more fellow who is definitely known and seems to show up in every sci-fi TV show I watch…but there is no denying he is hilarious.
Patton Oswalt – Tragedy Plus Comedy Equals Time
My apologies to any friends or non-friend comedians who may have released an album in 2014 that I didn’t include. I don’t get very good record service here at home.
Enjoy the playlist, thanks for coming by and please check out my career portfolio including all the comedy stuff I did for the past ten years.