Brian Regan

See also:
*10 Best Stand-Up Comedy Shows in L.A.
*12 L.A. Comedy Acts to Watch in 2013

5. TopTune
A comedy songwriting competition hosted by Jonathan Menchin and Tom Tully. With songwriters Dan Bern, Annie Boxell, Robert Morgan Fisher, Logan Heftel, Phil Ward and Chelsea Williams. Commentators: Julie Christensen, Dom Irrera and Henry Phillips.Fanatic Salon; Fri., Feb. 1, 8 p.m.

4. Dan St Germain
St. Germain's "cat guy" joke was selected as one of the 20 best jokes about New York -- and that's a list that also has Woody Allen! The Improv; Fri., Feb. 1, 8 p.m.

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Judy Tenuta

See also:
*10 Best Stand-Up Comedy Shows in L.A.
*12 L.A. Comedy Acts to Watch in 2013

5. An Evening of Butthurtt
April Winchell and Rob Paulsen perform "some of the angriest and most poorly spelled Regretsy hate mail from the last three years." The Jon Lovitz Comedy Club; Fri., Jan. 25, 8 p.m.

4. By The Way, Jeff Garlin in Conversation with Will Ferrell
By the way, it's sold out. Largo at the Coronet; Mon., Jan. 28, 8:30 p.m.

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Nick Kroll

In our list of best comedy shows this week ... some famous people, and some non-famous ones, too.

5. Don't Tell My Mother
"True stories you'd never want your mom to know" with With Baron Vaughn, Annabelle Gurwitch, Hasan Minhaj, Claire Titelman, Nikki Levy, who will tell the story about "of cutting off all my hair to prove to mom that I was gay." Club Fais Do-Do; Thurs., Jan. 24, 8 p.m.

4. BeerSharkMice
Master improv-ers Paul Vaillancourt, Pete Hulne, Dave Koechner, Pat Finn, Mike Coleman, Neil Flynn return for two consecutive Saturdays. I.O. West; Sat., Jan. 19 &20, 9 p.m.

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Kurt & Kristen

5. Kathleen Madigan
Classic sample Madigan: "My parents never noticed anything, ever. I could have been paralyzed from the waist down, and my father would have said, 'That's our lazy kid.'" Comedy & Magic Club; Thurs.-Fri., Jan. 17-18, 8 p.m.; Sat., Jan. 19, 6:45 & 9:30 p.m.

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Tenacious D

5. Chop Schtick 2012
Oh, holy night! All Jewish comics on Christmas Eve -- and egg rolls, too! Wendy Hammers hosts, with Eric Schwartz, Monica Piper, more special guests and a sing-along. Genghis Cohen, Mon. Dec. 24, 7 & 9 p.m.

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Greg Behrendt and Dave Anthony

5. The Incubator
Sean Conroy and Kyle Kinane present this "open mic but without all the uncomfortable silence, crickets and yawning." Nerdmelt at Meltdown Comics, Mon., Dec. 17, 9 p.m.

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Eddie Izzard

This week's list includes two great Eddies, Izzard and Pepitone.

5. Paul Scheer Sexy Christmas Spectacular
Paul Scheer promises his "famous celebrity friends will tell you the true meaning of Christmas and the other December holidays that don't really count." With Nick Kroll, Reggie Watts, Garfunkel & Oates, Magician Rob Zabrecky, Sword Swallower Brett Loudermilk, Kurt Braunholer, Mookie Blaiklock and Owen Burke. Largo at the Coronet, Mon., Dec. 10, 8 p.m.

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Doug Stanhope

5. I Don't Know Dick
Bob Wiltfong combs through love letters by some guy named Dick. The Improv, Sat., Dec. 1, 6 p.m.

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Seth MacFarlane playing swimmer Ryan Lochte on SNL recently

Let's all give thanks we have bountiful great comedy in this town.

5. 17th Nerdmelt Horrible Movie Night
Hosts John Mathot and Susan Wright, along with the awesome musical improv team Love Jet, get ruthless on Alienator with Jan Michael Vincent. Nerdmelt at Meltdown Comics, Sat., Nov. 17, 8 p.m.

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Carol Rosegg

They say Simon Amstell's the next Woody Allen.

See also:
*Our Calendar Section, Listing More Great Things to Do in L.A.
*Best L.A. Novel Ever: The Tournament

Our list includes an up-and-coming Brit and an original SNL star.

5. Set List
Paul Provenza and Troy Conrad concocted this wildly popular show where comics are handed unpredictable topics as they walk onstage. This month features Matt Braunger, Ari Shaffir, Ben Gleib, The Sklar Brothers, Alonzo Bodden, Dana Gould, Rick Overton host Matt Kirshen. NerdMelt at Meltdown Comics, Thurs., Nov. 15, 9 p.m.

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