Baron is, as they say in the showy bidness, is a three-time threat. Although he can make you laugh in more than three ways, and usually will within one routine. He's that talented. He lives in NYC but travels quite a bit.

It's holiday season (at least as I write this), and Aparna has a great gift for gab, which she shows off here in a routine about dealing with her mother. She's in D.C. What a patriot!

When I first flung myself into comedy in Seattle in the mid-1990s, Dave was one of the great thought-provokers, and also great to talk to offstage. He may live more in the U.K. now, but he still knows how to take a hot-button American issue and make it funny and relevant.

Jesse is a Pittsburgh product, proving that the Three Rivers can produce belly laughs through stand-up after the steel business goes belly-up. Keep an eye on this guy. And this clip shows he's willing to keep up with the trends. Twitter? Yeah, he'll do it. Here's why.

John won the Funniest Person in Austin contest, and he still may very well be the funniest person in the capital of Texas, so you'll have to go there to see him, Show Business! Who else can tell a poop joke about Russian history?

I feel like I saw Shane become a star overnight, because I was there when it happened at the final HBO festival in Aspen. How he writes and delivers great jokes may be a mystery, but you don't have to be Sherlock Holmes to enjoy the ride. He'll have his first Comedy Central CD and half-hour special early in 2010.