Sometimes, it feels like browsing YouTube can be hazardous to your (mental) health. Between endless videos of cats doing stupid cat things, to foul-mouthed hipsters being oh-so snarky, to the comment trolls, the world’s most-trafficked video site can be a pretty bleak place if you are looking for entertainment which isn’t laced with endless F-bombs or which appeals to those with an IQ higher than 40.
Fortunately, there are some pretty cool channels with some redeeming values on YouTube, you just have to know where to look. To help you out, we have compiled a list of the Top 10 Best YouTube Channels That Aren’t Just Insanely Stupid.
10. How It Should Have Ended
How It Should Have Ended is a series of funny animations, which highlight how ridiculous some Hollywood movies really are, while proposing new, infinitely more hilarious endings to some of your favorites. How It Should Have Ended started in 2005, and is still going strong 8 years later!
9. Mr. Arturo Trejo
This YouTuber and dad who goes by Mr. Arturo Trejo films funny vlogs and skits involving his wife and son. Most of his humor is related to kids and having a family (like his video 18 Reasons Not To Have Kids, or How To Make Ladies Feel Sorry For You), but his videos have clean humor and can be watched by anyone (he has a cute kid too!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bq2T7jP7dpQ
8. FreddieW
Freddie Wong is a popular YouTube filmmaker and special effects artist, well-known for incorporating jaw-dropping visual effects into his short, funny skits. Freddie W also has his own production company RocketJump, with which he created the webseries Video Game High School.
7. Bad Lip Readings
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Bad Lip Reading is a channel which parodies clips from movies, television shows, news, and music videos by dubbing the videos over with… well… bad lip readings! The creator of Bad Lip Reading, while anonymous, said that he was first exposed to lip reading when his mother lost her hearing. She was great at it. He however, was not, and BLR was born!
6. Improv Everywhere
Improv Everywhere is an improv comedy group based in New York that performs huge scenes in public, often involving bystanders unaware of what is going on. What sets Improv Everywhere apart from any other “prank” YouTube channel, is that the jokes aren’t mean-spirited, but instead are amusing and a nice surprise for everyone involved — like the time where they surprised a random couple in the park with a 5 star dinner and concert on the spot, surprised a random newlywed couple with an impromptu wedding reception, or when they got 100 people to line up in front of a local dollar store for Black Friday.
5. Cinema Sins
The creators of CinemaSins (Chris Atkinson and Jeremy Scott) have taken it upon themselves to point out all of the “sins” found in many of the latest films, as well as some of the classics. While some people may find their hypercritical, snarky humor a bit annoying, they’re not immune to their own criticisms, even making a cinema sins about their own show!
4. Rhett and Link
Comedic duo Rhett & Link, best friends since the first grade, are YouTubers known for their viral low-budget commercials (their most famous is for taxidermist Chuck Testa!), as well as their comedy videos and songs which feature impressive visual effects work. And while they are comedians, they are also a big deal outside of YouTube, making it on Business Insider’s list of the “25 Most Creative people in Advertising: 2012”, as well as being called “Viral Video Masters” by Wired Magazine.
3. Corridor Digital
One of the best special effects YouTube channels, CorridorDigital specializes in making unique, visually complicated short videos. Spearheaded by Niko Pueringer and Sam Gorski, CorridorDigital has been creating intricate digital effects since 2010. Along with FreddieW, CorridorDigital has been one of the main inspirations for many other budding vfx artists on YouTube.
2. Phillip Defranco
Phillip Defranco is a YouTube celebrity and online news commentator, who selects several current events in the news, and provides his intelligent and funny opinions on the news, making his YouTube channel cool for staying stay up to date with current news, while watching it in an easy-to-consume format. While more reserved than other YouTubers like Shane Dawson or Ray William Johnson, Phillip Defranco does occasionally use some “language,” so use your own judgment and discretion. And he is a bit of a snarky foul-mouthed hipster like we mentioned in the intro, but he is a SMART snarky foul-mouthed hipster.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8zqNv1R2yc
1. SoulPancake
SoulPancake is a media company that promotes spirituality, creativity, arts, and philosophy. SoulPancake was created by Rainn Wilson, who played Dwight on The Office, and his two friends Joshua Homnick and Devon Gundry. SoulPancake is filled with plenty of inspirational, thought-provoking videos, which will restore your faith in humanity. Enjoy!
So, there you have it: 10 YouTube channels which aren’t a complete brain-putreying waste of time. Yay!
BONUS: Teens Wanna Know
Of course, no list of the Top 10 best Youtube Channels That Aren’t Just Insanely Stupid would be complete without our own channel, Teens Wanna Know! (shameless plug)
(thanks to our former host Michael M. Peña for his help in putting this article together!)