I’ve likely spent more time on YouTube these past few months than I ever have before in my life, so I thought it would be a good idea to share my Top 10 favorite channels (plus one honorable mention).
Check this list out and I guarantee that you’ll find some great new content to watch!
- Mark Rober: Mark is my favorite person on YouTube, and while you may not know him by name, you likely recognize some of his videos. He’s probably most famous for his two videos involving glitter bomb traps for porch package thieves. His videos range from the science behind carnival game scams to creating the world’s largest Super Soaker. Mark previously worked at NASA and his videos are both wildly fun and educational. Pre-Covid, it was announced that Mark would be hosting a show on Discovery called “Revenge of the Nerd”, but I’m not sure what the status of that show is now. Here’s hoping it’s still a go. But at least he’s still making videos on YouTube, his most recent being a squirrel ninja obstacle course. It’s a dream of mine to be in a future video somehow because they all look like an absolute blast.
- BrewstewFilms: According to his bio, “I make crappy cartoons about my real-life experiences” and while BrewStew’s animation is pretty shoddy, the humor and stories told are fantastic. The crude animation actually has become part of the channel’s charm too. Tyler Rudolph is the creator/narrator and I really relate to his comedy and stories because he’s around the same age as me and we’ve had a lot of similar experiences as kids it seems. He’s done videos on the Pokemon Card phenomenon and trips to Blockbuster, two of my favorites! If you were an 80’s/90’s kid, I think that you’ll really enjoy his channel and the stories that he tells.
- Steve1989MREInfo: Steve Thomas has been described as “The Bob Ross of Food Reviews” and it is a very fitting title. Steve eats and reviews military rations (MREs) from armed forces across the globe, including some VERY old meals. Recently, he ate a 1906 US Army ration . Previously, he’s also eaten rations left over from the Vietnam War and World War II. It may sound “disgusting”, but the videos are really anything but. The majority of these rations have actually held up pretty well over the years, and Steve’s videos are just a very calming, enjoyable watch. Like Bob Ross, Steve just seems like a genuinely nice human being who just really enjoys eating and reviewing MREs. His excitement for some of this food is contagious and he has me wanting to ordering MREs to try. (Just don’t watch this channel late at night or you may get hungry)
- Defunctland: Defunctland is a fascinating channel on YouTube that started out documenting amusement parks and attractions from around the world that are no longer up and running. It has also expanded to include discontinued television shows. It’s easily one of the highest quality shows on YouTube in terms of production and research. It’s so good that when you’re watching it you’ll be surprised that it isn’t on the History or Travel channel. This channel is an absolute must for anyone who loves amusement parks like myself. My favorite videos are the histories of Disney’s old 20,000 leagues under the seas ride, Nickelodeon’s Legends of the Hidden Temple, and Universal Studios Earthquake ride.
- The Vista Group: The Vista Group is the newest channel on this list as they only began uploading videos about a year ago. However, they have quickly become one of my strange favorites. Vista Group uploads forgotten and rare VHS and broadcast content, including some really odd videos. My favorites so far include a Jason Priestly Gun Safety video, Richard Simmons Sweating with the Oldies, and a Ringling Brothers Be A Clown instructional video. The channel really is just an archive of random old videos, but there’s some interesting content here for everyone. They’re another channel that I think 80s/90s kids will especially enjoy exploring.
- OSW Review: OSW Review stands for Old School Wrestling Review and it’s a channel started by three lads from Ireland who chronologically critique old school pro wrestling pay per views (PPVs). They’ve since expanded and have some other reviews up, but pro wrestling is obviously their bread and butter. I grew up loving pro wrestling as a kid and this channel gives me a nice fix of nostalgia. It doesn’t hurt that Jay, V1, and Mr. OOC are pretty damn hilarious and have no problem making fun of some of these old wrestlers/storylines. This channel is perfect for anyone who used to enjoy pro wrestling but feels like today’s product just isn’t as good. And I mean who doesn’t want to revisit the good ol’ The Lex Express?
- Inside The Magic: Everyone knows that I love Disney World, but allow me to tell you a little story from our last trip. My wife and I sat down for lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox in Toy Story Land and seats were at a premium so we let a grandmother and her severely autistic grandson share our table. We befriended them and stayed there for a bit just talking with them. The grandson couldn’t go on most of the rides since they were too stimulating, but he knew almost all of the rides inside & out and could tell you all about them. The reason is because he watched them on YouTube on Inside The Magic which allowed him to enjoy the rides even though he physically couldn’t ride them. This channel, and others like it, are great for anyone who wants to experience Disney rides without actually being there. Want to experience Norway’s Frozen Ride? You can! Did you miss the Yeti on Expedition Everest when you rode it? Here he is! ITM also has other great theme park content videos as well. My only suggestion would be to not use this for rides that you haven’t experienced in person yet, especially Rise of the Resistance and Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway, unless you think that you’ll never actually get on them. Those rides are extra special and deserve to be ridden in person first!
- Pat the NES Punk: Pat’s channel started out as all things related to the classic Nintendo Entertainment System. It is a great channel for all the gamers out there who grew up playing the original NES. He eventually branched out a bit and now also includes commentary on modern games as well, but Nintendo remains his bread and butter. He’s written two guide books on the NES and Super NES libraries, so the guy really knows his stuff. He’s often now joined on camera with Ian Ferguson, his podcast co-host. The channel has new gaming related videos up each day, and most have a real morning radio show vibe with Ian & Pat. He has been uploading videos for 12 years, so there’s a lot of content to go through, and his older videos remain my favorite. My two favorite Pat videos are his review of the very rare Flintstones Surprise at Dinosaur Peak game and his review of the old WWF NES games.
- Tom Scott: My friend Zach put me on to British Youtuber Tom Scott only recently, but he’s already in my top channels. Tom’s channel is filled with fun, educational videos on topics such as history, science, tech, and more. One of my favorite videos of his is called “Why You Can’t Buy Dasani Water In Britain” which talks about the interesting flop of Coke’s bottled water product in the UK. I also love his “If Educational Videos Were Filmed Like Music Videos” post. He has series on his channel including “Things you might not know”, “Amazing Places” and “Built for science”. His videos aren’t too long either and you’ll likely learn tons of random knowledge from them. Tom also has a channel with his friend Matt called “Matt & Tom” which has some good content as well, but is updated less often than his main channel.
- Major Wrestling Figure Podcast: Started and run by pro wrestlers Matt Cardona (fka Zack Ryder) and Brian Myers (fka Curt Hawkins) this channel is for all the kids who grew up playing with/collecting wrestling action figures. Not only that, they’ve begun branching out to include non-wrestling figure videos such as a review of NECA’s TMNT line. This channel brings back all the feelings of walking into a Toys”R”Us, Kiddie City, or Kay-Bee and searching the aisles for the figs you needed for your collection. They’ve got some LONG videos that are absolutely filled with nostalgia and great information, like the history of the wwf hasboro figures and the history of wwf ljn figures. They also do some pretty entertaining fig hunt videos as well, where they take trips to toy stores in search of action figures.
Honorable Mention – I Am Skippy: While on tour working for the band Chester French back in 2009 my Blackberry Curve trackball broke right when we got to Orem, Utah for a show on the Blink 182 tour. Outside of the venue, I found a very nice, quirky Mormon fella who volunteered to give me a ride to the mall to get my phone fixed. I gave him a ticket to the show as a thank you, and we’ve remained in contact ever since. That guy is Scott “Skippy” Jessop better known as IamSkippy, Skippy the Virgin, or Sundance Skippy. Skippy is the real life 40+ year old virgin whose channel can best be described as “cringe” videos. Skippy posts cringey videos of his dates on his search for love, and let’s just say that he hasn’t had much success yet. People can be a bit harsh on Skippy for his dating interactions, but deep down he’s truly a nice guy who honestly just isn’t great with the ladies/dating. Skippy also has a hobby of meeting celebrities (which he sometimes films as well) and has also been featured on TLC, Chelsea Handler (Hosted by Dave Grohl), Jamari’s YouTube (I subscribe to Jamari, and he’s just outside my top 10), & more! I didn’t think it was fair to include him in my top 10 since I’m a bit biased and I have also played a role in helping out with some content ideas for his channel.