The *Real* Top 100 Podcasts of all time
Time Magazine put out their list of the top 100 podcasts of all time. It was universally hated. Usually I try not to get bent out of shape over these things. Similar to how Always Sunny has never won an Emmy and only have nominations for "Best Stunt Coordination In a TV Series (??????). Or how at the 2016 Grammys Macklemore won Best Rap Album over Drake and/or Kendrick Lamar. These are old, out of touch people handing out awards or creating lists that are automatically going to be horrendous. The people at the Grammys or the Emmys or Time Magazine are not real humans. They are robots who make these decisions based on politics, money, industry relationships, clicks and views, and basically all the things that should NOT be the criteria for awards or rankings.
But, that being said, Time's list was so egregious it crosses over from "ahhh thats just stupid clickbait" into "well this is just plain ignorant." And also when it comes to the realm of Podcasts, a) its obviously a topic near and dear to my heart, 2) Its the most popular and influential new form of media and deserves a real list. There were legitimate hundred millionaires, if not billionaires, left out of Time's piece and D) some of my coworkers and friends were horrifically snubbed and they deserve their flowers. So I feel like there's a difference between, lets say Buzzfeed making a silly rage bait list designed to make people comment and share and click and hate, and essentially claiming some sort of authority over a whole industry when you omitted the best of the best.
Now before we get to my list, let me say a few things:
1) I understand the world, and internet, are huge. I'm sure there are plenty of podcasts on the Time list that are very successful. I'm sure there are shows on there that are massive, have the stats to back it up, and are ranked atop the various convoluted podcast charts. However, I liken that to the Big Bang Theory being the number 1 show for like a decade straight. And everyone hates that show except for that simpleton idiot Big Daddy Trent. So my list was an attempt to include some of those podcasts that deserve to be there based on performance, success, financial success, and rankings, but more importantly this list is comprised of the shows and hosts that NORMAL PEOPLE LISTEN TO. Shows and hosts that if you meet a random person and strike up a conversation and say you listen to XYZ, they know the podcast and know the names. In a sense its similar to the olden days of blogging - websites like Bleacher Report and Elite Daily were very big and successful but there was zero personalities behind those entities. Nobody had a "favorite blogger." Nobody could pick a face our of a lineup, nobody knew a name or could reference a specific blog. Whereas Barstool was built on recognizable personalities and styles of all kind. The way there were faces and names that everybody knew and we grew a true, real following and created a real fanbase behind Barstool, thats sort of what I tried to replicate with this list.
2) I will shoot Time Magazine a little bit of bail, this is a hard list to compile. There are undoubtedly some shows I'm sure people will say "how did you leave __ off!" I couldnt get them all. I also acknowledge that its impossible to do this without your own personal bias and preferences effecting the list. For example, in terms of music entries the VAST majority of the podcasts listed are from the hip hop world. Now I do genuinely think rappers and hip hop journalists have done new media better than any other genre of music, but also a lot of those guys are my favorite artists and podcasters so I recognize it might be a little skewed in a few departments.
3) This is specifically "Podcasts," which muddies the waters a little bit. If this was "Media personalities" or just "hosts," people like Howard Stern and Stephen A Smith and Mike Francesa would be on the list. Guys that dominated radio, or television. And yes they have a podcast, but those shows havent replicated the immortal level of success they achieved in their true, best mediums. Hot Ones with Sean Evans is a MASSIVE youtube success but not a real presence in the podcast world. Kai Cenat and the streamers are the biggest thing on the internet today, but streaming is not podcasting. You get the point.
4) I tried to balance the legacy podcasts and pioneers with the modern day juggernauts. The shows and hosts who maybe are not well known today by people new to the podcast world, but they are hosts who created the genre. I also tried to include a few niche shows, and a few of the nerd shows from the Time list.
5) Last but not least, I wasnt going to include my own show in the interest of trying to remain impartial and not be self serving, but when I really dug into the research using charts, downloads, AI, following etc, I felt like KFC Radio actually deserved to be on there. Longevity, downloads, guests, and the influence in the Barstool realm, I genuinely believe it should be on there.
Without further adieu, the REAL list of the Top 100 podcasts. The first list is just alphabetical, the second list is broken out by genre. Neither are ranked from 100 to 1. Thats almost impossible. So no particular order. Also I am only chiming in on a few shows. Writing up a blurb on 100 shows would take an eternity and nobody wants that. And we're off! Let me know which ones I missed.
The Real Top 100 Podcasts of All Time
2 Bears 1 Cave
All Gas No Brakes / Channel 5
All In Pod
All the Smoke
Always Sunny Podcast
Are You Garbage?
Armchair Expert With Dax Shephard
Bad Friends with Cheeto Santino and Bobby Lee
Basement Yard
Ben Shapiro Show
Bill Burr’s Monday Morning Podcast
Bill Simmons Podcast
Bobdoes Sports
Bodega Boys
Bonfire on Sirius XM
Breaking Points with Sagaar and Krystal
Brilliant Idiots with Andrew Schulz and Charlamagne
Bussin With The Boys
Call Her Daddy
Candace Owens Show
Chicks in the Office
Club 520 with Jeff Teague
Club Shay Shay
Combat Jack
Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend
Congratulations with Chris Delia
Crime Junkie
Cumtown
Dan Lebatard Show with Stugotz
Diary of a CEO
DJ Vlad (VladTV)
Drink Champs with Nore
Fighter and the Kid
Flagrant 2 with Andrew Schulz & Akaash Singh
Foreplay
Gary Vee Audio Experience
Giggly Squad
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Gil’s Arena
Girls Gotta Eat
H3N3
Hey Babe
How Did This Get Made?
Huberman Lab
Impaulsive with Logan Paul
Joe Budden Podcast
Joe Rogan Experience
Joey Diaz The Church of What’s Happening Now
Jordan B. Peterson Show
Juan Ep with Cypha Sounds and Rosenberg
KFC Radio
Kill Tony
Kirk Minihane Show / The Case
Ladygang
Last Podcast on the Left
Legion of Skanks
Lex Friedman
Lore
Lowe Post with Zach Lowe
Mandii and Weezy (Whoreible Decisions)
Marc Maron – WTF
Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast
Men in Blazers
Million Dollaz Worth of Game
My Favorite Murder
Nerdist
New Heights with the Kelce Bros
Nightcap Shannon Sharpe and Ochocinco
No Jumper with Adam22
Opie and Anthony / Opie & Jim
Pablo Torre Finds Out
Pardon My Take
Pat McAfee Show
Patrick Bet David Valuetainment
Pod Save America
Rap Radar
Rhett and Link
Ricky Gervais Show
Ryan Russillo Show
Sam Roberts Notsam Wrestling
Serial (Season 1)
SmartLess (Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, and Sean Hayes)
Smodcast (Kevin Smith)
Spittin Chiclets
Stavvys World
Stuff You Should Know
Sword and Scale
The Adam Carolla Show
The Daily
The Pivot with Ryan Clark
The Rewatchables
The Shawn Ryan Show
Theo Von – This Past Weekend
This American Life
Tim Dillon Show
The Toast
Tom Green Podcast
Up and Vanished with Payne Lindsey
We Might Be Drunk with Sam Morrill and Mark Normand
Whiskey Ginger with Andrew Santino
Whitney Cummings Show
Your Mom’s House (YMH with Tom Segura and Christina P)
By Genre
The GOAT
Joe Rogan Experience - Right off the bat Time's list was invalidated by not including Joe Rogan. The man pioneered the genre, help mold the whole industry, prior to his Spotify deal he was doing TWO HUNDRED MILLION DOWNLOADS….A MONTH. Since numbers arent fully available, some speculate hes cracked 3 BILLION downloads/Youtube Views. Hes signed multiple nine figure podcast deals, and if I had to guess, just speculating, hes a billionaire. Hes the most successful podcast ever, its not a debate. Leaving him off is like excluding Michael Jordan from an NBA list. Just asinine and a clear indicator that Time allowed politics, or money, or personal bias to effect their choices.
Comedy
2 Bears 1 Cave
Always Sunny Podcast
Are You Garbage
Bad Friends
The Basement Yard - A perfect example of a show that would never make a stuffy ass list like Time, and a lot of people may not know Joe Santagato and Frankie Alvarez, but they are the quintessential podcast success story. 2 best friends who just turned on the mics and started chopping it up in 2015, now fast forward to 2025 and they sold out MADISON SQUARE GARDEN… in 12 fucking minutes. Not the theater. The fucking arena. A good example of a name or hosts that maybe the average person might not recognize but New Yorkers and podcast fans absolutely LOVE them
Bill Burr Monday Morning Podcast - Should also be included in the legacy/Pioneer genre. Bill started in 2007. SEVEN! And Also is a true, blue podcast. Solo host, riffing off the cuff, answering emails and questions. One of the greatest comics of all time and one of the GOAT podcasts. Back when Bill was first doing it, only guys like him and Louis CK could sell out MSG, and he paved the way for guys like The Basement yard to be able to do it almost 20 years later.
Bodega Boys - Desus and Mero are two of the funniest guys ever. May be a New York bias, but their original podcast was legitimately the funniest show Ive ever listened to. For me, their break up felt as devastating as most white people felt when the Beatles broke up. Also, they will forever be the one that got away. Me, Dave, and Erika Nardini ate lunch with them at the Red Lobster in Time's Square and got to the 1 yard line but we could never hammer out a deal. They went on to get a fat bag from Showtime, but I maintain had they signed with Barstool and stayed online and podcasting, theyd be one of the biggest ever. Shout out to Mero still in the game with a modern day pod that will make the list one day, 7pm In Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony and Kaz.
Bonfire - Dan Soder needed to be represented on this list. As does Big Jay. But Dan Soder is like 1/1A along with Chris Distefano for the funniest podcasters alive.
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Brilliant Idiots
Conan O'Brien Needs Friends - Listen, I dont know what the downloads are. I'm not sure what rankings are or how much success this particular podcast achieved…but heres my solemn promise - if Conan O'Brien does something - TV, Podcasting, SNL, Simpsons, whatever, I will always list him as one of the best to ever do it.
Congratulations with Chris Delia - I didnt say "Top 100 Podcasts featuring Hosts with Sexually Appropriate Proclivities." But the guy had major success, you cant deny it.
Cumtown - A break up that absolutely crippled a fanbase, but gave birth to another top 100 show, Stavvy's World, and if we make this list like 12 or 18 months from now, the Adam Friedland show will be there as well.
Hey Babe - Chris Distefano is arguably the greatest podcaster of all time. Couple that with another great comic and a television superstar from Impractical Jokers, Sal Vulcano, and you got a top 100
How Did This Get Made? - My first example of one of those kinda nerd, intellectual shows but the size, success, and quality is undeniable. A show that fits in the dork lists and the Barstool lists.
Joey Diaz The Church of Whats Happening Now
KFC Radio
Kill Tony
Ladygang
Last Podcast on the Left
Legion of Skanks
WTF with Marc Maron
Matt and Shane’s Secret Podcast
Ricky Gervais
Flagrant 2 with Andrew Schulz and Akaash Singh
SmartLess
Stavvys World
TFATK (The Fighter and the Kid)
Theo Von
The Tim Dillon Show - When Tim first got cooking it was perfect timing: The Rise of Trump and the complete politicization of the world was happening. I've never seen someone catch a wave better than he did. His persona of a gay, recovering addict, Long Island scumbag combined with his talent as a comic and his knowledge in politics propelled him to own the biggest Patreon in the world for quite a while
We Might Be Drunk
Whiskey Ginger
Whitney Cummings
YMH
Sports
All the Smoke
Bill Simons Show
Bobdoes Sports
Bussin
Club 520
Club Shay Shay - A fascinating case of how ONE episode of your podcast can change your entire career. Shannon Sharpe featuring Katt Wiliams is the most watched podcast in the history of YouTube. Almost at 100M views. Blew right past Rogan and Elon Musk. And transformed Shannon Sharpe from a wildly successful media and sports personality into a nine figure man. Well, should be if not for catching a questionable case.
Dan Lebatard
Foreplay
Gil’s Arena
Men in Blazers
New Heights
Nightcap Shannon and Ocho
Pablo Torre Finds Out
Pat McAfee Show
Pardon My Take - If Joe Rogan wasnt snubbed, PMT would have been the most egregious omission. Dan, PFT, and Hank, along with the other cast of co hosts and producers, built a modern day juggernaut that was like Top 5 overall and top 1 in sports for YEARS. I'm actually surprised they didnt make the Time list. Although their Barstool affiliation no doubt hurt their chances, the best trait of PMT is it can float between the mainstream world and the degenerate world. A truly perfect podcast.
Ryan Russilo
Spittin Chiclets
The Lowe Post
The Pivot
Politics / Commentary
All Gas No Brakes / Channel 5
All In Pod
Ben Shapiro
Breaking Points
Candace Owens Show
Huberman
Jordan Peterson
Lex Friedman
Patrick Bet David Valuetainment
Pod Save America
The Shawn Ryan Show
True Crime
Crime Junkie
My Favorite Murder
Serial - Season 1 of Serial featuring Sarah Koenig chasing down all leads and examining all the evidence in the Adnan Syed case was probably the most interesting and well produce/polished stand alone season of podcasting to ever exist. 13 episodes garnering 340 MILLION DOWNLOADS and paving the way for every other True Crime show.
Sword and Scale
Up and Vanished
Kirk Minihane The Case - One of the only true crime podcasts (that I know of?) that actually solves the case it undertakes.
Culture / Lifestyle
Armchair Expert
Diary of a CEO
Gary Vaynerchuk Audio Experience
Impaulsive with Logan Paul
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Kirk Minihane Show - Kirk's show and the Case are 2 shows that I combined into one entry. Primarily because I was afraid to leave his main show off this list because I dont want him wishing death on my daughter and exposing all my private life and secrets.
Lore - Nerd show that I bet a lot of people from the Barstool universe dont know but if you're looking for a historical podcast thats both entertaining and educational with stand alone episodes tackling some of the weirdest and most compelling stories, topics and themes from all over the world, Lore is it.
Female
Call Her Daddy
CITO
Giggly Squad
Girls Gotta Eat
Mandi and Weezy Whoreible Decisions
The Toast
Entertainment
Sam Roberts
The Rewatchables
H3N3
Rhett and Link (ear biscuits and Good Mythical Morning)
Legacy/Pioneers - An overall analysis of this whole category. All of these shows were created in the 2000s or early 2010s. They essentially created this medium. Tom Green's podcast made Joe Rogan Experience happen. If you havent seen the video of Joe as Tom's guest realizing the power of not working with a network, streaming on the internet, saying whatever you want and using Skype, go watch it. You can see Joe realizing this is the future. Combat Jack (RIP) and Juan Ep established hip hop podcasts, which dominate 20 years later. Kevin Smith's Smodcast is from 2010 and if a few things broke differently, he could have been Joe Rogan. O&A are no longer around but they paved the way for radio and podcasting, and gave birth to icons like Jim Norton:
Adam Carolla Show
Combat Jack
Juan Ep
Nerdist
Opie and Anthony / Opie & Jim
Smodcast
Tom Green Show
Music / Hip Hop
DJ Vlad
Drink Champs
Joe Budden - Along with Joe Rogan and PMT, Joe Budden is the other most ridiculous omission. Particularly because of timing. Joe could be listed in the pioneer category, but that almost does a disservice because hes only begun to peak. The same week that Time Magazine put out their list, The New York Times did an expose on the Joe Budden Podcast. Complex also listed him as the #1 podcaster in black media. He makes $1M a month on Patreon, $20 million a year, has multiple streams of income, and if I had to guess, he'd be the next operation to get a Barstool deal of like $500+ Million. Assuming he wants to sell, that is. Because Joe has always remained independent and creates elite partnerships rather than flooding his show with 7 ad reads. The only podcast with that level of success that DOESNT DO ADS. Puts the listening experience, and the show's reputation, above promo codes and affiliate links. For you whites out there, hes very similar to Portnoy in a lot of ways. Drama filled, certainly not without scandal and beef, the Joe Budden podcast has had several iterations, and a slew of co hosts have been left in Joe's wake. Although many would say the Glory Days with Rory and Mal were the peak of JBP, the new cast of Ice, Ish, Melyssa Ford, Parks, Flip, Dark Lamont Hill, Emanny etc is thriving just as much. The only constant is Joseph Anthony Budden.
New Rory and Mal
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No Jumper
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