The comedy album is having a very good year. I've selected 5 things I want you to hear:

Paul F. Tompkins - "Elegant Balloons"

What I love about Paul F. Tompkins is how friendly his comedy is. He makes me feel safe. Not in a timid way, just more like he's the opposite of the kind of comedian who's looking for people to make fun of. That's why he wears a three-piece suit every time he performs. He's a gentleman, and he's dressed up for the occasion of this his comedic performance. His album feels classical without feeling retro, it's completely comfortable in its skin, in its suit. [Buy Impersonal]

Patton Oswalt - "Physics For Poets"

The cover of Patton Oswalt's Werewolves and Lollipops is an illustration of his face, removed from his head like a marble, and the only thing left in the hole for his face is a row of teeth, with fangs. This is a perfect cover, because crossing Patton Oswalt is a bad idea, he takes down hecklers in a more harsh and overdramatic way than I've ever heard, but as long as you're not asking for it it's okay. Like in this bit, for example. It's just a completely seamlessly crafted little story about a college exam that involves Star Trek and physics. It's exactly what college was like for me, there were courses like that, and questions like that. [Buy Werewolves and Lollipops]

Stewart Lee - "90s Comedian (excerpt)"

An oddly under-appreciated comic. He seems to run into more controversy than he deserves, and it's gotta be getting old for him at this point. His anger isn't unfocused or hateful at all, it's very calm, very examined. You can hear that here, especially in the explanation of the fact that you can't send a friend to have investigative surgery in your place. He's like a philosopher, he'll go over the simplest details with dignity and patience, and it's hilarious, because he's nice about it, no matter how stupid it is. [Buy 90s Comedian DVD]

Maria Bamford - "Mental Makeup"

Maria Bamford is perfect. She's heading up the stand-up division of the ongoing revolution of female comedians. Her comedy, while inherently female, has none of the former hang-ups that a lot of female comedians had. It's just incredibly funny. Her role-playing is, while maybe her best, just one element in her style. Her voices give instant depth to the characters and we're suddenly interested in them, but when we come back to bits just about her, she's just as interesting. fantastic. [Buy How to WIN!]

Scharpling & Wurster - "Jock Squad (sample)"

And of course, my favourite. This was the first piece I heard on Fluxblog over a year ago now, and it's now on the Best Show 2006 compilation. I was so taken in by this, the simultaneous feelings of spontaneity and genius calculation, the always-surprising fluidity and integrity of the character work, Best Show has inside it a graduate thesis just waiting to be written (but first we need comedy, like film, to be studied, so that those who fail at doing comedy can study it instead). [Buy the new Scharpling & Wurster cd Art of the Slap]