George Carlin for his clever use and guardianship of the language.
Steven Wright for his uncanny ability to turn the most commonplace objects and situations into the weird and ironic.
Maria Bamford for her characterizations, whether with voice or mannerism.
Julia Lillis because her tunes are funny and also hummable almost immediately.
Andy Kaufman, who could make the most annoying shit pretty funny (if you were in on the joke, otherwise you just wanted to smack the jerk).
Paula Poundstone, who joked about fears and anxieties and foibles that are probably common to us all.
Sam Kinison for expressing the male side of male/female relationships in a manner that we men would if we thought we could.
Richard Pryor for expressing the black side of white/black relationships in a manner that we blacks and whites would if we thought we could.
Bill Hicks, because the truth can be funny and like a knife in the gut at the same time.
Kathy Griffin’s bit about her relationship with Steve Wozniak was incredibly funny to Apple geeks.