My Top Ten Favorite YouTube Channels

Having a favorite YouTube channel is a bit like having a favorite sandcastle-they're all constantly changing and moving around so that you can't quite pin down what your favorite is going to be.  Two years ago if you'd asked me, I would have said without hesitation that it was JacksGap, which starred two of the sexiest twins you've ever seen goofing around on camera and occasionally opening mail, but their channel became too condescending in recent years (though the cinematography is still aces, and the twins are still heartbreakingly beautiful, even if Finn is never on anymore).  If you'd asked me a year-and-a-half ago, I surely would have put Shane Dawson at the top of this list, but his bitterness toward pretty much everyone about failed experiments like bombdotcom and Not Cool have left a bad taste in my mouth.  As you'll notice below, neither Jacksgap nor Shane are on this list, so know that this is fluid and six months from now, depending on the creative changes these shows make, I might tinker a bit.

But as of now, I figured it was about time for GTKY Sunday that I make a Top 10 Favorite YouTube channels list.  I've been toying with this idea for eons, and figured it was time I finally gave in to the internal pressure.  Below you will find my Top 10 favorite YouTube channels.  It's worth noting that you won't see channels that are also on TV like The Graham Norton Show or The Late Late Show with James Corden even though I watch both exclusively on YouTube, because that's a bit of a cheat.  You also won't find archival channels like the Oscars, which is focused entirely on broadcasts from television even though, again, I am constantly watching those.  Nope, these are the Top 10 channels I love most currently on YouTube.  Take a look!

10. Sprinkle of Glitter

Real Name: Louise Pentland

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Louise has 2.2 million subscribers and 105 million views

Has She Written a Book? Yes!  It comes out in September.

Why the Love: I think it's because of all of the Gleam Team (the nine posh and beautiful British YouTubers that have come to own YouTube-there's another one coming up on this list), Louise is the most real.  She never seems fake or different in her vlogs compared to her actual videos, so she's either consistently herself or a very good actress.  She's also terribly cheeky, occasionally putting in naughty jokes along with her beauty tips.  Plus, she's my age in a world where YouTube ageism is rampant, so I have to cheer her on for that (and she's a great mum!).

My Favorite Video: Ooh, that's a tough one (that's going to be tough for all of them), but I'm going to go with her YouTube families video with Grace (where Louise completely fangirled):

9. My Drunk Kitchen

Real Name: Hannah Hart

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Hannah has over 2 million subscribers and over 167 million views.

Has She Written a Book? Yes!  You can get it today!

Why the Love: Hannah is the brains of the YouTube community (well, along with John Green, but he's already been celebrated enough on this blog), and isn't afraid to show it.  With her ridiculously well-versed puns, her constant spouting of trivia, and her love of cheese, she's my YouTube soulmate.  Plus, who doesn't love drinking and cooking with friends?  It's the perfect recipe (pun intended...for Hannah).

My Favorite Video: The YouTube Holy Trinity is almost impossible to beat (Hannah, along with Grace and Mamrie), so I'm going to go with their No Quitter Fritters video:

8. Connor Franta

Real Name: Connor Franta

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Connor has over 4.5 million subscribers and over 230 million views.

Has He Written a Book? Yes!  You can get it today!

Why the Love: I'm in love with Connor Franta.  If Louise is the Mum of YouTube and Hannah the Big Sister, then Connor Franta is the guy you desperately want to be your boyfriend, constantly making adorkable videos and he has that hair that you could sketch in a notebook for hours.  Plus, he's gay and from Minnesota, so how could I not pick him?  

My Favorite Video: I feel bad doing a tag video that almost everyone did, but Connor's was seriously the best (and this video also features several of Connor's signature sexy wink-clicks), so I went with the Google Myself tag:

7. ThatcherJoe

Real Name: Joe Sugg

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Joe has almost 4.7 million subscribers and over 330 million views.

Has He Written a Book? Yes!  It comes out in September!

Why the Love: While a lot of YouTubers do tag or challenge videos, Joe is the one who actually comes up with them.  Everything from YouTuber Whispers to Innuendo Bingo to the ShockBall Challenge are all courtesy of Joe, who is one of the more creative YouTubers online, and it shows (he's probably the newest YouTuber on this list and is coming in on 5 million subscribers).  Plus, he's a Suggery, as Alfie would call him, and you can't go wrong with that.

My Favorite Video: I'm going with the video that made me fall for Joe, his dead-on YouTube impressions (a skill that he is REALLY good at-if you like this vid there's plenty more where it came from):

6. Tyler Oakley

Real Name: Tyler Oakley

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Tyler just hit 7 million subscribers and has over 400 million views.

Has He Written a Book? Yes!  It comes out in October!

Why the Love: No one, and I repeat no one, does collabs better than Tyler Oakley.  Considering collabs are usually my favorite thing on YouTube, this wins him mad points.  Tyler's not the funniest guy on YouTube, but he's a chameleon, managing to adjust to whether he's getting drunk with Hannah or interviewing Darren Criss or even the First Lady, so as a result he almost never makes a video that doesn't at least hit excellent.  Tyler seems, more than anyone else on this list, to be the "star" of the bunch-daytime talk show producers should be trying to scoop him up immediately.

My Favorite Video: There are so many options, and I know you Troyler fans are going to be mad (but I'm Tronnor anyway, so get over it, and you know that's the actual one in real life, since they refuse to collab but are frequently together), but I'm going with Edward Fortyhands with Mamrie, because it is too fun for words (plus, Troye is actually in this one, so calm thy selves):

5. Smosh

Real Name: Anthony Padilla and Ian Hecox

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Smosh just hit 20 million subscribers and have had 4.5 billion views.

Has He Written a Book? No, but they do have a movie coming to theaters next month.

Why the Love: Smosh is one of the most consistent channels on the internet.  Week after week they come out with funny, frequently low-brow but always entertaining content, and they haven't let intense fame (4.5 billion views, y'all!) go to their heads too much-that's great because other channels tend to get a little too big for their britches when they are going into other mediums.  Plus, I love the fascinating obsession that fans have with Anthony's hair.

My Favorite Video: My favorite series ever on Smosh is surely the If (Insert Here) Were Real, and so I'm going to go with if apps were real, since it's the perfect blend of Smosh and internet humor (plus the Tinder parody is dead-on):

4. Tobuscus

Real Name: Toby Turner

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Toby has over 6.2 million subscribers and over 1.1 billion...throw in his second and third channels, and he hits 3 billion.

Has He Written a Book? No-come on Toby, get on the wagon!

Why the Love: I will admit that a few years ago Toby would have been in a wrestling match with Shane Dawson for the top spot on this list, but has fallen a bit (the Snapchat vlogs are well, kind of lazy since we've already seen them on Snap and feel a little bit like a double-dip for more money), but he can still deliver.  I especially love the Animated Adventures and anything associated with his maniacal dog Gryphon.

My Favorite Video: This is impossible, because arguably my two favorite videos of all time are from Tobuscus.  So please click over here for the Gryphon Ting commercial, but in the meantime watch Viral Song (yes, I know EVERY word and had to watch it to completion while putting it here):

3. PewDiePie

Real Name: Felix Kjellberg

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Pewds is the king of YouTube.  He has 37 million subscribers and over 9 billion views (that's more views than there are people on the planet, for a point of reference).

Has He Written a Book? Yes (it was just announced)! And it comes out in October!

Why the Love: With PewDiePie, you either have the love and are part of the Bro Army, or you're one of the haters that Pewds is constantly calling out in the comments section.  Whatever side you're on, if you're in the YouTube community, you have an opinion as he dwarfs the competition (he has almost twice as many subscribers as the next highest-ranking original content channel on YouTube, which is Smosh).  I personally love Pewds-I find him endearing, funny, and he does the best dog voice this side of Tobuscus.  As he frequently reminds us, "Pewds does everything!"

My Favorite Video: I'm not a gamer, so I don't always get all of Pewds' references, but my favorite series he ever did was the One Direction game series.  I think I'm going to go with the one where he finally gets to kiss Harry Styles:

2. It's Grace

Real Name: Grace Helbig

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Grace's counts are a bit down because she had to vacate her channel a few years ago (learn more about it here) but she still has 2.5 million subscribers and over 110 million views.

Has He Written a Book? Grace actually has two books!  One you can order immediately and the other you can pre-order for October.

Why the Love: If you read this blog consistently, Grace is probably the YouTuber I write about the most, and you might have seen her on The Grace Helbig Show on E! (if you didn't, shame on you if it doesn't get a second season).  Grace is the girl next door, if the girl next door looked like a Neutrogena ad and had the comic timing of a young Gilda Radner.  Her stream-of-consciousness videos are probably my favorites, but really Grace is one of those rare channels I literally watch everything that comes out.

My Favorite Video: Grace, Mamrie, and Tyler all guessing YouTubers based on body part.  Do I even need to sell this thing?  I mean, come on:

1. You Deserve a Drink

Real Name: Mamrie Hart

Where You Can Subscribe Immediately: Right Here

Sharing the Love: Mamrie is the only person on this list not to be at 1 million subscribers yet (917k so far...come on and help her out-you won't regret it) but does have 43 million views.

Has He Written a Book? Yes!  Click here to buy immediately!

Why the Love: Mamrie Hart is perfect.  Like, completely and totally perfect.  She's funny, razor-sharp, but doesn't feel the need to constantly be focused on only things her younger fans are going to get (she frequently makes allusions to the likes of Full House or John Hughes, for example).  She's also a pretty decent bartender-her drinks are generally pretty good and cool, and I highly recommend you go over, subscribe, make a libation, and then spend a few hours laughing your ass off.

My Favorite Video: Mamrie is basically the only person who can genuinely compete with Tyler Oakley over who does the best collabs (literally any collab video with her will have you and the guest in stitches), but I'm going to go with one where she teams up with Hannah and Grace for her thirtieth:

And there you have it-my Top 10 favorite YouTubers at the moment!  Share yours below (and if you love Miranda, Troye, or Caspar, know that they were THIS close to making it, so don't hate too much)!