I love Youtube. Honestly, I probably love it to an almost unhealthy degree. It has replaced television for me, being a world of endless content, having millions of channels from which I can choose to entertain myself.
With so many channels, however, it can be hard to find the ones that are actually worth watching. Because of this, I’ve made this list of 5 of my favorite Youtube channels.
1. Markiplier
One of the better known members on this list, Markiplier is a Let’s Player — or in other words, someone who makes videos of himself playing video games while adding his own commentary. The Let’s Play genre is one of the most popular types of videos on youtube, with currently 6 Let’s Play channels in the top 30 most subscribed on Youtube.
I get it, some of you might think watching a video of a guy playing video games is the perfect example of me wasting my time. For me, it’s a perfect way to relax. Markiplier, while at times extremely immature and explicit, also has moments of complete hilarity as well as sincere and deep thoughts. He really does care about other people, constantly doing live streams to raise money for charities, and has raised more than $3,000,000 for multiple charities. The above video is the first episode of one of my favorite Let’s Play series by Markiplier for the video game 'To The Moon’. The game is funny, quirky and an emotional rollercoaster that hits me hard every time. Check it out!
2. The Film Theorists
A spin off channel from The Game Theorists, it’s run by MatPat and primarily focuses on studying the science for, making theories about and just generally over-analyzing different movies/TV shows. Aside from the personal fascination I have with crazy theories and the corny humor that is used within these videos, I also absolutely love and appreciate the level of thought that goes into every episode. He really tries to cover all his bases, and after a few episodes it’s very clear that he is a fairly intelligent individual. The video I’ve chosen to represent this channel is probably one of the most outlandish theories he’s made, that being that Deadpool, the bad-mouthed Marvel “hero”, is actually Ernest Hemingway. It might not be as crazy as you think.
3. Wisecrack
Wisecrack contains many different members, with the main one’s I’ve watched being Sparky Sweets and Jared. Sparky Sweets primarily does ‘Thug Notes’ — essentially, SparkNotes as told by a gangster. In addition to being absolutely hilarious, he often times raises surprisingly deep questions and points of analysis. Jared does my personal favorite of ‘The Philosophy of’ series. This series studies the philosophies found in different medias, such as ‘The Philosophy of Breaking Bad’ and ‘The Philosophy of the Joker’. Referencing philosophers who died hundreds of years ago and applying them to modern entertainment shows just how impactful these thinkers were and continue to be. I’ve included my favorite episode, ‘The Philosophy of Negan’, the incredibly charismatic, ruthless and current main antagonist of ‘The Walking Dead’.
4. Dude Perfect
Another extremely popular channel, Dude Perfect consists of 5 guys (and a panda) who have become famous doing absolutely ridiculous trick shots and hilarious stereotype videos. It’s simply insane what these guys pull off and super entertaining. Just to add some laughs to this last, I’ve included their video on ‘Movie Theater Stereotypes’.
5. OurLastNightBand (Our Last Night)
Finally, Our Last Night. As their channel name suggests, Our Last Night is a band with a hard punk rock style. They’ve quickly become one of my favorite bands of all time. Now, I completely understand people not being a fan of this type of music; it’s certainly a very specific taste. That being said, please at least give them a try. I’ve included their cover of Taylor Swift’s song ‘Look What You Made Me Do’ because (1) I’m not a fan of T-Swizzle (sorry y’all) and (2) Her lyrics for that song do not fit at all with the music she uses, but is absolutely PERFECT for Our Last Night. Please be sure to check out their other songs, especially ‘Sunrise’ and ‘Broken Lives’
I’ll be the first admit that these 5 Youtube channels won’t fit everybody’s tastes, but that’s part of the beauty of Youtube — having so many different channels that you can simply stumble upon another one that might entertain you more than the last.