Image via Complex Original
As is the case with any profession, being a good comedian requires a ton of practice, and for many of the top stand-up and sketch comics Twitter is a fantastic, low-risk training ground for their actual performances. It's become the go-to place for both established and emerging funny people.
It's often the emerging talents who have the best grasp on the medium. Far too many established comics use the social media outlet purely for self-promotion, and it's boring as hell. Thus, it's necessary to suss out the few who actually tell jokes—and good ones. These are the 50 Funniest Comedians on Twitter.
50. Steve Martin
Twitter Handle: @SteveMartinToGo
Followers: 4,055,683
Who says that old guys can't use Twitter too? The comedy legend plays up his curmudgeonly demeanor in his tweets, frequently commenting on the myriad ways modern life continues to astound him. No word on whether he counts his flop The Big Year as one of those mysteries of 21st century life.
49. Jim Norton
Twitter Handle: @JimNorton
Followers: 270,971
Norton is a regular on the stand-up circuit and he hosts his own show on Sirius XM radio. He also takes a lot of pictures of both himself and others, which he gleefully posts all over his Twitter page. Not to worry, though; he mixes in a lot of culture-related tweets amidst the sea of selfies.
48. Ron Funches
Twitter Handle: @RonFunches
Followers: 10,336
Funches is new to the comedy scene, but he has already landed on a number of "Comedian to Watch" lists, along with having recently been cast on the NBC series Undateable. He's also one of highest-volume tweeters out there, averaging nearly double-digit posts per day on pretty much any pop culture topic imaginable.
47. Ricky Gervais
Twitter Handle: @rickygervais
Followers: 4,703,968
At this point, nearly everyone knows about Ricky Gervais in the United States. He is an unabashed admirer of the Internet, and uses Twitter to both comment on the strange things he finds as well as spread more serious messages about enjoying life. Additionally, he will occasionally offer up quotes from Karl Pilkington, the dimwitted former producer of The Ricky Gervais Show whose lack of knowledge about pretty much anything makes for comedy gold.
46. Chris Rock
Twitter Handle: @chrisrock
Followers: 2,197,129
Unfortunately, Chris Rock doesn't tweet often-because Chris Rock doesn't have to do anything often. He's Chris Rock. But when he does tweet he delivers with his typical insight into race and modern American culture. Trust us, he's worth the wait.
45. Michelle Wolf
Twitter Handle: @michelleisawolf
Followers: 6,158
Since committing to comedy full time at the beginning of 2013, Wolf has developed a small but growing Twitter following. The staggering frequency of her tweets and ability to make fun of herself make her a must-follow, even if her recent unemployment means she's going to be clogging up your timeline occasionally.
44. Max Silvestri
Twitter Handle: @maxsilvestri
Followers: 29,351
Silvestri still regularly performs stand-up, and a lot of that material appears on his Twitter page in the form of reflections on pop culture. He also writes quite a bit for Grantland, specializing in lampooning pretty much every chef-centric reality TV show.
43. John Hodgman
Twitter Handle: @hodgman
Followers: 899,935
This occasional Daily Show contributor and comedy author has parlayed a long career full of sarcastic, dry humor into a huge Twitter following. His feed is sub-Saharan, full of sarcastic comments about the people he meets and observes in his everyday life. Knowing Hodgman (as most of his followers do) makes the tweets even more hilarious.
42. Mike Birbiglia
Twitter Handle: @birbigs
Followers: 277,825
While you wouldn't know it based on his pop culture-centric tweets, Birbiglia has won numerous awards for his one-man shows. My Girlfriend's Boyfriend won the Lucille Lortel award for Outstanding Solo Show in 2011, and in 2012, his film based on his one-man show Sleepwalk With Me won the Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.
41. Chelsea Handler
Twitter Handle: @chelseahandler
Followers: 5,427,023
This queen of mean satire loves tweeting photos from at and around her show Chelsea Lately, also occasionally dropping insulting lines about her own guests as well (although we suspect they're in on the joke). When she isn't hosting her own show, Handler is also a best-selling author, appears on other TV shows, and occasionally performs stand-up.
40. Lauren Ashley Bishop
Twitter Handle: @sbellelauren
Followers: 38,977
This Arkansas native tours the country doing stand-up while also making the occasional TV appearance, most recently on Exposed. Look for her to connect the dots between the NSA and Justin Bieber, and just about any other of-the-moment topic.
39. David Nussbaum
Twitter Handle: @theNuzzy
Followers: 19,533
Nussbaum may not be especially well-known, but his Twitter page is full of material ranging from the politically incorrect to the very politically incorrect. When he's not sending out multiple jokes per day, Nussbaum spends his time hosting his podcast Decently Funny and appearing regularly on The Howard Stern Show.
38. John Mulaney
Twitter Handle: @mulaney
Followers: 163,319
This former Saturday Night Live writer is the less-credited co-creator of Bill Hader's "Stefon" character, and to date has released two stand-up specials of his own. His Twitter is used in part to promote his and his friends' projects, but also as a trial ground for his stand-up material. Thankfully, he doesn't do as much promotion as some Twitter feeds we won't mention. *cough*Steve Harvey*cough*
37. Josh Patten
Twitter Handle: @thejoshpatten
Followers: 9,127
This Saturday Night Live writer and former Upright Citizens Brigade performer may be small time now, but in a few years he could be following in the footsteps of the countless UCB alums who have gone on to huge careers on and off camera. On Twitter, he likes to post about sports and other elements of culture, trying out material for what could be on next week's "Weekend Update."
36. Neil Hamburger
Twitter Handle: @NeilHamburger
Followers: 76,676
Neil Hamburger is the peculiar creation of Gregg Turkington. Hamburger functions as a weird caricature of a classic nightclub act, full of one-liners. Only, Hamburger's one-liners are deliberately off-putting. It's not Weird Twitter, it's something else entirely.
35. Jon Hendren
Twitter Handle: @fart
Followers: 61,108
Hendren was tabbed by Forbes magazine in a recent article as the "Destroyer of Internet Brands," a reputation earned with stunts like his Twitter campaign that successfully forced Pitbull to visit the Wal-Mart in Kodiak, Alaska. On his feed you'll also find him trying to help start strange movements and mercilessly poking fun at celebrities.
34. Paul Scheer
Twitter Handle: @paulscheer
Followers: 487,563
A fan favorite as Dr. Andre Nowzick on The League and a writer/sketch comedian on numerous other shows and acts, Scheer has become a ubiquitous presence in the comedy world. His Twitter feed has also developed a huge following thanks to the his sarcastic comments about culture both popular and obscure, as well as the occasional non sequitur.
33. Jim Gaffigan
Twitter Handle: @JimGaffigan
Followers: 1,678,422
Gaffigan's everyman stand-up routine has given voice to many of our innermost desires (bacon on everything?), and he has carried that popularity over into Twitter. Poking fun at himself, his children, and anything else, Gaffigan has won over the Twitterverse with his own unique brand of humor. He has also appeared in numerous TV shows, and even recently penned a book of essays called Dad Is Fat.
32. Rob Corddry
Twitter Handle: @robcorddry
Followers: 1,462,588
One of the benefits of being famous before going on Twitter is your comedic voice can become a part of how people read your tweets, and for Rob Corddry that's crucial. You can feel his sarcasm oozing from pretty much everything he writes, which helps make the Hot Tub Time Machine star such an entertaining follow.
31. Todd Barry
Twitter Handle: @toddbarry
Followers: 219,147
Like several popular stand-up comics, Todd Barry has managed to become known as a "that guy" by appearing in small rolls on countless TV shows; his recent credits include Flight of the Conchords, Louie, and Delocated. On Twitter, he indulges in whatever topics are trending at the time and tweets at celebrities, although he never seems to get aresponses. Follow and find out why.
30. Ana Gasteyer
Twitter Handle: @AnaGasteyer
Followers: 79,308
This Saturday Night Live alum has done it all in her career, and now stars on the ABC comedy Suburgatory. Her irreverent Twitter account is all over the place, poking fun at her children, her travels, and anything else Gasteyer faces on a daily basis.
29. Stephen Colbert
Twitter Handle: @StephenAtHome
Followers: 4,961,606
To know Stephen Colbert is to love him, as the late-night funnyman's number of Twitter followers attests. It is virtually impossible to read any of his tweets without imagining the Colbert Report host sitting behind his desk, yelling each one-liner at you in rapid succession. Scrolling through Colbert's feed is like getting an extra five minutes of his show every single day.
28. Mike Scully
Twitter Handle: @scullymike
Followers: 87,022
If this name sounds really familiar, that's probably because you have seen it hundreds of times on the credits for The Simpsons, where he has been writing since 1993 when he replaced some guy named Conan O'Brien. He also loves to tweet, posting a lot of plays on words and observations on everyday absurdities.
27. Natasha Leggero
Twitter Handle: @natashaleggero
Followers: 186,677
Natasha Leggero has made a name for herself as a regular panelist on Chelsea Lately, and her sarcasm there certainly carries over into the majority of her tweets. She can often be found performing her stand-up act both on TV (she's appeared on numerous late night programs) and in small venues all over the country.
26. Doug Stanhope
Twitter Handle: @DougStanhope
Followers: 153,451
Stanhope has been a fixture in the comedy world for over a decade, cranking out a new album or DVD special almost every year since 1998. While he tweets a lot about his tour dates themselves, you'll also find a lot of gross humor centered on his travel misadventures suffered in airports and hotels en route to these performances.
25. Chelsea Peretti
Twitter Handle: @ChelseaVPeretti
Followers: 217,741
A successful writer and stand-up performer, Peretti will make her starring debut in Brooklyn Nine-Nine this fall on ABC. Until then, Peretti's Twitter feed will have to suffice, where she takes particular relish in making quick, all-caps, non-sequitur proclamations.
24. Jimmy Carr
Twitter Handle: @jimmycarr
Followers: 3,307,097
British stand-up comedian Jimmy Carr has achieved huge success across the pond, touring year-round in addition to appearances on TV and radio. He tweets about pretty much any subject in the classically dry British style of humor, although he certainly has no filter whatsoever and is unafraid to toe the lines of propriety.
23. Amy Schumer
Twitter Handle: @amyschumer
Followers: 408,981
The star of Inside Amy Schumer will never be accused of taking herself too seriously, and her Twitter feed certainly goes along with that idea. Schumer most often makes herself the subject of her punchlines, while also occasionally chiming in on pop culture and offering insider humor while live-tweeting her show on Comedy Central.
22. Rob Huebel
Twitter Handle: @robhuebel
Followers: 469,434
Huebel is a notorious "that guy," appearing in many movies and TV shows as well as performing in sketch shows for Upright Citizens Brigade. He prefers to use Twitter as a platform to pose a lot of hypothetical questions and make a lot of outlandish statements about just much anything that pops into his mind. Lucky for us.
21. Retta
Twitter Handle: @unfoRETTAble
Followers: 137,182
If you don't love Donna from Parks and Recreation, there's really nothing we can do for you. You have brain damage, unfortunately. Retta's Twitter is hilarious not just for her jokes, but for her delivery. She live tweets all her favorite shows every week, and if you read them in her voice, each one is more hysterical than the last.
20. Michael Ian Black
Twitter Handle: @michaelianblack
Followers: 1,916,687
Black has cornered the "dry, sarcastic talking head" niche of the comedy kingdom, and uses Twitter to only further enhance his standing. When not tweeting (which he does at least three or four times per day), you can see him starring in the Adult Swim mock-informercial series You're Whole.
19. Kelly Oxford
Twitter Handle: @kellyoxford
Followers: 524,080
We don't know her, but we want to be Kelly Oxford's friend. This Canadian stay-at-home mom has managed to become a Twitter celebrity with her cultural satire and willingness to use her children as mechanisms for joke-telling, and has even gone on to become a New York Times best-selling author with her book Everything Is Perfect When You're a Liar, which she released earlier this year.
18. Eugene Mirman
Twitter Handle: @EugeneMirman
Followers: 285,668
In addition to making the rounds a stand-up comedian, Mirman can be seen on the Adult Swim mockumentary Delocated, while also voicing Gene Belcher on Fox's Bob's Burgers. On Twitter, he spends the majority of his time tweeting about current events and promoting his shows, while also occasionally trying to rally his followers behind causes both philanthropic and comedic.
17. Sarah Silverman
Twitter Handle: @SarahKSilverman
Followers: 4,425,023
This unapologetically blunt and filthy comedian doesn't clean up her act for Twitter. Pretty much everything she says is either gross, morally depraved, or (more likely) both, and we love her for it. For this star of numerous TV programs nothing is off limits, so if you're easily offended you should probably just skip this one.
16. Kumail Nanjiani
Twitter Handle: @kumailn
Followers: 128,904
You don't find a lot of Pakistani-American comics these days, but if Kumail Nanjiani is any indication, we'd certainly like to see more. He has appeared in guest spots on numerous TV shows (most notably Portlandia), and has also made numerous late night TV appearances performing his standup act. On Twitter, he likes bashing the Miami Heat and often gives humorous insight into his own inner demons, such as his blind hatred for whomever sits next to him on a plane.
15. Kristen Schaal
Twitter Handle: @kristenschaaled
Followers: 404,597
Having gained public notoriety playing the secretly insane Hazel on the last two seasons of 30 Rock, Kristen Schaal takes a different tack with her Twitter feed, mixing a healthy amount of self-promotion with an equally strong dose of self-deprecation. While she retweets a lot of jokes, the best ones are all hers.
14. Conan O'Brien
Twitter Handle: @ConanOBrien
Followers: 8,424,530
Conan has mastered using Twitter in exactly the way you'd imagine he would: tweeting as if he were delivering the opening monologue of his show. The former Simpsons writer and current host of his own show on TBS comments largely on the news stories of the day, lending his signature sarcasm to each punchline.
13. Paul F. Tompkins
Twitter Handle: @PFTompkins
Followers: 394,850
Tompkins has been all over TV, appearing on shows like Community and Curb Your Enthusiasm, in addition to his stand-up work and hosting his podcast The Pod F. Tompkast. He loves using Twitter primarily to comment on images and retweet the jokes of others, but he occasionally throws his own excellent original material out there as well.
12. Ben Schwartz
Twitter Handle: @rejectedjokes
Followers: 204,765
The beloved Jean-Ralphio from Parks and Recreation and Clyde from House of Lies gives his followers what they want: a lot of original tweets. Sometimes they're about sports, sometimes pop culture, or other times just a random thought, but regardless of its subject, Schwartz is good for at least one strong tweet per day.
11. Megan Amram
Twitter Handle: @meganamram
Followers: 362,813
If Parks and Recreation seems like a breeding ground for Twitter celebrities, that's because it is. One of the show's main writers (she authored this season's classic "Animal Control" episode), Amram constantly cranks out new tweets ranging from the relatively tame to the wildly inappropriate with little regard for typical conventions of political correctness.
10. Patton Oswalt
Twitter Handle: @pattonoswalda
Followers: 1,312,534
An unapologetic TV and film nerd, Oswalt will tweet about pretty much anything. He's been known to jump from praising the superior narrative structure of an obscure British TV drama to making jokes about pee. Really, all bets are off.
9. Paula Pell
Twitter Handle: @perlapell
Followers: 88,220
Saturday Night Live writer Paula Pell has made a couple appearances in front of the camera as well, playing Pete's wife Paula on 30 Rock and Ron Swanson's mother Tammy on an episode of Parks and Recreation. She spends much of her time on Twitter making fun of herself, sending out new one-liners pretty much every hour.
8. Jenny Johnson
Twitter Handle: @JennyJohnsonHi5
Followers: 407,653
Johnson is a prolific tweeter, sending out at an average of five per day with a pretty high success rate. Her confrontational style made headlines late last year when the comedy writer and former news producer got into an all-out Twitter war with Chris Brown. Not surprisingly, she won.
7. Aziz Ansari
Twitter Handle: @azizansari
Followers: 2,980,180
The Parks and Recreation dominance of this list continues with Ansari, who in addition to playing the wildly popular Tom Haverford on the hit show also tours the country performing his stand-up act in huge venues in front of standing room only crowds. Embedded between tour date information on his Twitter profile, you can find gems ranging from odd requests of other celebrities to jokes about his own race.
6. Jamie Lee
Twitter Handle: @TheJamieLee
Followers: 80,269
A former semifinalist on Last Comic Standing, Lee is on the rise both in the stand-up scene and on TV. Her Twitter account is a great place to get place to get a sampling of her unique brand of self-deprecating humor, which is the central focus of her popular act.
5. Harris Wittels
Twitter Handle: @twittels
Followers: 62,341
Even though he has achieved great success as both a writer and occasional guest star on Parks and Recreation, Wittels might do his best work on Twitter. Not only does he himself kill it with ridiculous, off-beat humor, but he's also the creator of @humblebrag, the best place to go if you want to see people try to show humility, fail miserably, and be shamed publicly.
4. Mindy Kaling
Twitter Handle: @mindykaling
Followers: 2,351,736
If you love The Mindy Project, you've got company: Mindy Kaling does, too. She tweets about it a lot. But the former Ms. Kelly Kapoor isn't only about self promotion, she also uses her Twitter to post the occasional 1990s cultural reference as well as her own unique brand of self-deprecation.
3. Alec Sulkin
Twitter Handle: @thesulk
Followers: 540,526
Sulkin is best known for his work penning episodes of Family Guy, and the former Craig Kilborn scribe also co-wrote last year's hit film Ted and is currently developing his own sitcom. He's managed to develop a huge following on Twitter thanks to his politically incorrect one-liners and humorous sports commentary.
2. Joe Mande
Twitter Handle: @JoeMande
Followers: 69,291
A staunch Miami Heat hater, Joe Mande loves to tweet out pretty much any diss he can think of about the Heat and their fans, along with other musings on the ills of American culture. He also tours the country performing his stand-up act and writes for Parks and Recreation, Delocated, and Kroll Show.
1. Rob Delaney
Twitter Handle: @robdelaney
Followers: 866,342
After winning the vaunted Funniest Person on Twitter Award at the 2012 Comedy Central awards, Delaney has lived up to his reputation by constantly tweeting at celebrities and occasionally getting into exchanges with the likes of The Rock and Jose Canseco. When not on Twitter (which is rare, given the frequency of his tweets), Delaney writes and occasionally appears on TV on comedy shows such as Key and Peele.