This list is part of our Best of the Year collection, an obsessively curated selection of our editors' and listeners' favorite audio in 2022. Check out The Best of 2022 to see our top picks in every category.
Something exciting occurred to us when assembling this list of titles—they're not all one thing. There are memoirs and essay collections, scripted podcasts, and even—in the case of our winner—a documentary series. The protean nature of this list makes sense for comedy, because there’s humor just about everywhere and in everything if you’re looking for it. Sometimes that humor is just plain silliness, but sometimes that humor gets down to the core of what it means to be a person in the world—a way to make sense of all the bumps and bruises we get along the way.
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Audible's Comedy of the Year, 2022
I can’t think of anyone I’d rather get a history lesson in comedy from than JB Smoove. Through six episodes, Smoove takes listeners into the personal, professional, and political lives of six legendary Black comedians: Paul Mooney, Flip Wilson, Moms Mabley, Dick Gregory, Rudy Ray Moore, and Red Foxx, each of whom, in their own way, changed comedy and the culture as a whole. Told through a combination of Smoove’s narration, archival recordings, and commentary from other comedy greats—Cedric the Entertainer, Margaret Cho, and Norman Lear, to name a few—Funny My Way is the ultimate listen for any and all true comedy fans. —Aaron S.
Like many Audible listeners, when David Sedaris releases a new title, it’s a stop-what-I’m-in-the-middle-of-listening-to event, and hit play immediately. Happy-Go-Lucky sees Sedaris and his family dealing with the loss of their father and what it means to be, for all intents and purposes, an orphan—all while adjusting to the “new normal” of our world brought on by COVID. Narrated by Sedaris himself, this new collection of essays is moving, smart, make-you-want-to-call-your-dad-inducing and, of course, funny. In other words, everything you want it to be and more. —A.S.
Because stand-up comedians spend so much of their early careers on the road, fine-tuning their routines in less-than-ideal circumstances, they inevitably have a deep well of bizarre experiences and raucous nights to draw material from. So, it’s no surprise that Tom Segura has plenty of amazing and hilarious tales to tell in this listen. His chance encounters with Mike Tyson and Serena Williams reveal a depth of character and relatable insecurities that few storytellers can conjure—and he pulls it all off with the wry sense of humor and askew personality that elevated him to the top of the stand-up and podcasting realms. —Sean T.
When you have a library as full as mine is after five+ years here at Audible, there's always the danger of missing a true gem. But thanks to good colleagues who always share what they’re loving at any given moment, I got around to Space: 1969 in enough time to let you know that you don’t want to end the year without it. I’m not even one who’s much for sci-fi, but as long as you’re on board for some wackiness, I promise you don’t need to be either. Starring Natasha Lyonne along with a full cast, and created by Emmy winner Bill Oakley, Space: 1969 is a work of historical fiction sci-fi comedy you need to add to your list. —A.S.
Past My Bedtime was the comedy I’d been excited about all year—an audio mockumentary following fictional 10-year-old Donnie Dixon’s ill-fated six minutes of fame as a late-night talk show host and a journalist’s obsession with getting to the bottom of what happened that night, including why the government destroyed all evidence of the broadcast. With a cast of narrators that’s almost dizzyingly stacked, this is the kind of story that’s meant for audio. —A.S.
Sarah Cooper takes on the age of social anxiety. This is a self-help guide for this post-pandemic age crossed with a soul-baring memoir of an immigrant woman who wishes she weren’t such a people-pleasing, conflict-averse introvert. Asked to try living her life by Dale Carnegie’s famous business rules, Cooper planned to expose it all for being manipulative and fake. But then Carnegie’s voice took hold, goading her to join the party and fill her life with new friends. As she shares her cringeworthy attempts to feel less awkward, she discovers what it truly means to be a socially connected and well-adjusted adult. —Maggie M.
Conan O’Brien’s longtime assistant Sona Movsesian’s lack of ambition borders admirable in her memoir, The World’s Worst Assistant. What happens when a talented, overachieving, first-generation Armenian American with familial pressures to succeed becomes disillusioned with the entertainment industry? Why, she stops trying to be good at her job while finding a way to become indispensable, of course. This hilarious and heartfelt narrative packed with behind-the-scenes anecdotes from Conan’s shows is a how-to guide for quiet quitting. Listen to this if you want to laugh. Period. —Rachael X.
Bonus: Listen to her interview if you want to laugh some more.
Let’s go back in time—all the way to 2013 (ah, remember the days?)—and visit Argyle, Ohio, an underdog Midwestern town full of oddities, like an upscale restaurant inside the DMV and, allegedly, the world’s largest lost and found. But when a hometown hero dies mysteriously during the town’s Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, everything changes. Co-created by father–son comedy duo Bob and Nate Odenkirk, with original music and a sound design that brings the listener right into the mix, Summer in Argyle is one you're gonna remember. —A.S.
I had high expectations for this comedy series co-created by Emmy Award winner Lena Waithe and actress and comedian Kym Whitley, and I was not disappointed. I devoured each episode about Kym, a B-list Hollywood celebrity raising a young boy, Trevante, whose biological mother is unable to care for him—a story loosely based on Whitley’s real life. It felt at once poignant, laugh-out-loud funny, and full of heart. Did I mention Kym features original music by Grammy Award winner Wyclef Jean? But don’t get too distracted. This is definitely Kym’s story–messy, imperfect, and larger than life. —Nicholas E.
The saga of Tenacious D—the way a “fake” band became a real one—is nearly as remarkable as many of their ridiculous lyrics and claims to greatness. Jack Black and Kyle Gass started as an LA rock-comedy duo nearly 30 years ago, releasing their first studio album in 2002, and their outsize ambitions eventually resulted in having Dave Grohl and Weezer performing with them. Now, listening to the friends share their origins as underdog schlubs who became legit rock stars (complete with archival audio!) is a treat for all D fans as well as those just tasting their genius for the first time. —Jerry P.
