The Ten Best Comedy Albums of 2022
It’s our ninth annual list of the ten best stand up albums in comedy, and 2022 brought a new challenge. As the concept of a self produced special becomes more mainstream, many comedians filmed their album tapings and put them out on youtube as a special. To keep this category pure we have always separated albums and specials, and any album also released as a special is disqualified from this category. We may have to revisit that plan in the future but for now, this category remains only for audio releases that did not also have a video release.
Having said that, honorable mentions to a few albums that weren’t stand up based. Like Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson for the release of their 7th volume of their hit series “Terrorizing Telemarketers.” Make sure you give a listen to a truly original rap albums from Open Mic Eagle, “Component System with the Auto Reverse” as well as Tim Heidecker‘s soft rock jam, “High School.” On the stand up side, check out Anthony Devito’s “Brain Noise”, Andy Sanford “Basket Case”, Irene Tu “We’re Done Now”, Phil Hanley’s “Ooh La La” and Chris Martin “All Over the Place” all available on YouTube or wherever you stream comedy.
Last year, the best album award went to James Mattern for The Check Spot. In 2020, Bonnie McFarlane won for her album Bird Calls. In 2019, Rich Vos scored a win for album of the year for When I Saw Hamilton. In 2018 Adam Ferrara won album of the year. In 2017 you gave the award to Joe DeRosa, in 2016 you overwhelmingly picked Rich Vos V as your favorite album of the year, and in 2015, Jay Mohr won In 2014, and our first annual album of the year award went to Big Jay Oakerson.
Don’t forget you can also vote now for. Comedy Movie of the Year! Vote for Comedy TV Series of the Year! Vote for Comedy Special of the Year! Vote for Best Comedy Book of the Year!
And soon you can vote for Comedian of the Year!
On to the top 10! Voting is open now!
RICH VOS. VII. Rich Vos is the reigning king of the comedy album, and has won this category twice in the last 8 years. His latest album is his seventh, and appropriately titled, VII. It was recorded at the Comedy Vault in Batavia Illinois, which you’ll hear a bit about in the opening track. The best albums are always recorded in comedy clubs, and Rich’s choice of this particularly club works on so many levels. Not only does it feel and sound like you’re in the room, but also provides Rich with great material to start the album. Or maybe he just got a good deal, either way, it works. For this recording Vos challenged himself with recording a 100% clean recording, but I wouldn’t have noticed if he hasn’t told me. He still crushed. Whether he’s trashing the venue he chose to record in, or talking about dodging drug dealers or when you need to use vinyl paint vs semi, Vos is a pro, he’s hilarious and the crowd loves him. But yeah, they could have given him more on that egg salad bit.
Tracks: I Said to Myself, Egg Salad, Bear Attack, Red Hat/Blue Hat, Toes, Churn Butter, Beautiful Story, Fresh, Sleepover, Rusty Golf Clubs, Crossing the Line, Bad Crowd Work.
AMY MILLER. CALIFORNIA KING. Amy’s latest album produced by Blonde Medicine was recorded at the San Francisco Punchline. In her second album, Amy is effortless on stage, with the confidence that puts the audience at ease no matter what the topic. That I-dont-give-a-fuck-what-you-think confidence frees her to be brutally blunt in many tracks, which is what makes this album so much fun and full of hilarious surprises, like describing her voluptuous breasts as Reagan Titties (you’ll have to listen to the album to find out why), and sharing her own unique tips to look fabulous at 40 and explaining why she’s so chardonangry. Amy is very self aware of her newly developing “old bitch behavior” and knows how to turn that into great stand up. if you’re communicating in paragraphs instead of dance moves on social media, “your eggs are dry.” If you’re not listening to Amy Miller, it’s the perfect time to start.
Tracks: Life Outdoors, Wet, Drought, New Neighbor, Chardonnangry, Reagan T*****s, Dog People, Bird People, Sex Party, The Desert, Aunt Amy, Poser Beanie, My Gas Pedal, Oakland Public School District
DAVE TEMPLE. FACEBOOK YOUTUBE AMAZON.. Temple’s third album starts with him telling the audience he’s one of the funniest motherfuckers to touch a microphone and he’s definitely in the running. Unapologetic and aggressive in the best way, Dave commands the stage at BKLYN Comedy Club where the album was recorded. The album’s title, Facebook, YouTube, Amazon refers to Dave’s meditation mantra and his own version of anger management, which you’ll hear about in his closing track. You’ll also learn about how to use black math to be happier, his advice for white people in this difficult time to be white, and how the pandemic helped him to deal some of his anger issues. Dave’s got one of the best albums of the year, and he’s one of our favorite comedians performing now.
Tracks: Too Angry to be Famous, Licky Licky Time, Too Mad for a Cat, The Indoor Beach, Playing Lego with World, Hang in there White People, Karens, Let me Speak to Your Manager, Bachelor Again, No Ordinary Bidet, Black Math, Comment Section Searching for Asian Men, Facebook YouTube Amazon.
GREG PROOPS. IN THE CITY. A Special Thing Records, recorded at the San Francisco Punchline. Greg Proops is an incredibly accomplished performer. You know him as not only a great headlining comedian but also actor, voice actor, writer, author, podcast host and television host. In the City is 100% improvised- as Greg said on his Instagram, he basically woke up and made up jokes. In the City is his 9th album- his tenth if you include his hour special, and it’s fantastic. Proops is a pro and can be funny while he’s sleeping.
Tracks: House Made Hummus, Requiem For a Club That’s Still There, Pandemic Do Some Research, Baking Break, My Cousins, Anomaly in the Methamphetamine, Ghoulish Flippancy, Situation in Wyoming, Z Top, Again White People, The City, Neo Nazi Malt Liquor, Eventual Sunrise, I Had My Eyes Did, Why Not Prepare Something Funny?, Mild Anesthesia, The Heat of Your Wit, A Special Dick Joke From Greg, Bonjour Paris, New Years Countdown
KATIE HANNIGAN. FEELING OF EMPTINESS. Katie Hannigan, she’s got so many different talents, and we love her for all of them. She can do characters, she’s a great writer, a terrific podcast host, and her stand up crushes. We especially love her material about fighting with her live-in older boyfriend, and their fights. He’s older than her, and they realized that he taught eight grade- while she was in eight grade. She’s one of the funniest young comics in New York City, and she’s got a tremendous future ahead of her. Stream this album, its big laughs start to finish.
Tracks: Pandemic, Roomies, Living in Sin, Relationship Discoveries, Looking for Love, Rich Daddy Poor Daddy, Marriage Material, Health Care, Liberal Arts Degree, Walk of Shame, Teaching Preschool, The Pill, Having Kids, Four Eyes, Women are Crazy, Bathroom Humor, Reefer Badness, Happy Ending, Odd Jobs
LIZ MIELE. THE GHOST OF ACADEMIC FUTURE. Liz Miele is an internationally touring comedian, known for her extreme love of cats, well honed writing, and a sardonic delivery that is addicting. Lucky for us, Miele is also prolific and has plenty of material to consume including a book three albums and a special. Liz turns her complaints into our entertainment and we appreciate it. Her track about her exes is hilarious and Liz’s observation that men are like cookie dough when we were expecting cookies is something everyone who dates men can appreciate. It’s not that she doesn’t shoulder any blame, She does, sort of. As she explains, she went to therapy to deal with her issues, but hilarious points out that this meant paying out of pocket for someone to raise her after he parents failed to do the job properly. Recorded at New York Comedy Club, the album is available via Ghost Runner Studios.
Tracks: Intro/Complaining, I Don’t Believe in Ghosts, Ex’s Are Lifeboats, Men Are Like Cookie Dough, First Draft Feelings, Break Up Jokes, You Are Not Dating Brad Pitt, The Ghost of Academic Future, Can’t Afford the Dentist, I’m So Lazy, I’m Living That Baller Medium Life, I Was Attacked on the Subway, Fuck the Post Office, Old People Love the Post Office, Strongest Mom in the World.
NATHAN MACINTOSH. MONEY NEVER WAKES. Canadian comedian Nathan Macintosh has been killing and winning over audiences in New York City for years now, and we’ve been fans for awhile. His high – almost manic energy sucks you in and is a refreshing change from the trend of laid back chill performers. You don’t get a break from laughing on this album. Macintosh got a lot of love for his first album. And it was great, but his new album, Money Never Wakes is a huge leap forward. A rare concept album- after a hilarious opening about the current state air travel, all of the tracks lead to talk about the big M- money. Nathan’s material about airplanes- by the way- is not about peanuts or the annoying person next to you. As Nathan says, “we have lost the planes,” comparing air travel to riding the F Train. He segues into dollar talk by giving a damn good argument for why pilots need to make more money, which is then followed by really funny tracks about why truckers, and subway drivers also need more money, and how our education system utterly fails to teach us anything about the most important things in our lives– money.
Tracks: Intro, Upgraded To First Class, Plane Flights, Cancelling Flights, Pilots Need More Money, Truckers Need More Money, Subway Drivers Need More Money, People Who Grew Up Without Money, Finding an Apartment, Condos/Doormen, Subway Restaurants, Expensive Restaurants, Nobody Teaches Us About Money, Student Loan Debt/Credit Cards, Bezos and Billionaires, Would You Suck A, We’re Not Going to Mars.
SUBHAH AGARWAL. DOG SHOW. Subah Agarwal is a seriously funny stand up comedian who also has pretty impressive writing credits, including a movie (Plan B), and several talk shows (Arsenio, The Jim Jefferies Show) and she’s got some cool acting experience like Westworld Season 3, and General Hospital. But stand up is her passion and this album is so good. She talks about growing up with a very conservative Indian mother, a brilliant older brother who she was unfavorably compared to, and her sex life, which includes some very funny turns which she shares with unabashed honesty, for our entertainment. Released via Blonde Medicine, and recorded at New York Comedy Club.
Tracks: Thank You!, Sex Worker Appreciation, Very Pretty?, Sexy Idiots, Comedy Origin Story, Psychics, Fat Vegetarian, You’ll Never Be Your Brother, Kicking a Drunk Dude, Afraid of Dick, Vision Board Red Flags, Chlamydia and Regret, Extinctions Not So Bad, He’s the Meghan Markle?, It Was Time, Thank an Engineer, Embarrassing My Family, Family Dog Show, Lots of Creepers, The Truth Comes Out .
NORE DAVIS. NORI (in Japanese characters). Does Nore Davis ever stop putting out albums? The answer is no. This is his fifth album since 2015, he is constantly creating. His latest doesn’t have a title we can spell- its a symbol which doesn’t even appear on a keyboard., so take a look at the cover to figure out which album we’re talking about. He also created a Limited Edition 14-page comic book with Chad Daniels about his transformation from Nore Davis to NORI because he’s a man with unlimited energy, creativity, talents and thoughts to express. Recorded at New York Comedy Club earlier this year, Nore covers the absurdities of our lives including sending millionaires into space, trying to help the planet by bear hugging his groceries, aging presidents, and the craziness that is our family court system summed up as “we used to fuck, now we don’t. help!” Always on the top of his game Nore is a always badass on stage.
Tracks: Nori > Nore Davis, WWWIII, Just Survive, Climate Change is Here Here, Did You Survive Covid?, Covid Was a Whole Movie, Governors Rule the World, January 6 Never Forget, Family Court is Real Real, Weaponized Baby, Living That Roblox Lyfe, Got a Dog, Dawg, Nevermind, Got a Cat, Performed at The Q, Homosexuality is a Sin, Really?, A Deep Bible Cut, Real Estates But Must Be Black, Black Ppl For the Win, Nore Davis < Nori, Chaos.
JEN KIRKMAN, OK GEN-X. Released by 800 Pound Gorilla, Ok Gen-X is a love letter to the forgotten generation. Kirkman is a powerhouse. She’s brilliant and sees how fucked up the world used to be and the ways that our culture continues to be pretty shitty now. One thing to know about Jen, she calls it like she sees it, and fears no repercussions. Early in the album, when she gets a small boo for calling out Chappelle’s take on gender identity, she retorts, “what are you booing me for, I’m not the bad comic who takes out his gripes on people on Netflix, and gets 25 million, you should like me. I’m in an unventilated basement trying to do better.” And she gets huge laughs doing it . The crowd is 100 (okay 99.9%) on her side, and its well earned, .She has totally mastered her timing on stage, and uses pacing to squeeze laughs and tears from the audience (and sometimes herself). Recorded at the hallowed Union Hall in Brooklyn, OK Gen-X is hardcore hilarious. Bonus- Jen has the best system for deciding when to get on an elevator with strangers, and when you shouldn’t.
Tracks: Period Jokes, Generation X, It’s the End of the World, Cigarettes & Matches, All Men, Girls Will Be Girls, Flashers & Famous Comedians, Elevator Etiquette, Catholics vs Christians, Triggered at Christmas
