Tony Madsen loves a good guffaw, chuckle, laugh or giggle, and no one induces those reactions from him like a good comedian.

Madsen, a sophomore history major, said his ten favorite comedians understand the fundamentals of joke telling.

“There are so many things that go into a funny person, and they are different for every person,” he said. “The timing, the delivery, the content and overall presentation is what does it for me. Everyone has a funny story, but how it is told makes it great.”

10. Steven Wright – “Steven is the one-liner king. You might think you would get bored after a while, but he has an endless supply of hysterical one-liners. There was a time when I did not appreciate his style, but listen a bunch of times and your interest will grow fast.”

9. Dave Attell – “The drinking man’s comic! Dave Attell takes his personal experiences from the bar mostly and turns them into the best stories. He is a guy you would love to have over for drinks because a party always follows soon after. For him, it’s all about how he presents the story.”

8. Lewis Black – “Captain of the angry man rants, Lewis has perfected complaining about society. He reminds me of George Carlin and is only slightly less funny. The real joy of his shows is how he attacks anyone and everything, especially when it comes to politics.”

7. Chris Rock – “One of comedy’s best observationalists. His political comedy is great, and he is another person that can get away with saying anything and it would be funny. ‘Bigger and Blacker’ is probably his most well known and that is for a reason. SNL and his movies do not do him justice.”

6. Ron White – “A newer comic for me, but his somewhat drunk presence on stage is great. His timing is great as well, and he talks about situations that we have all been in. Look for more from this guy as the years go on, and I’m sure he will be a large player eventually.”

5. Bill Cosby – “No one makes it look as easy as Bill Cosby. He just sits in his chair and tells a story, chatting with the front row people. He drifts in and out from prepared material in a seamless way. It doesn’t even feel like he is doing stand-up when he talks.”

4. Bob Newhart – “Bob Newhart might not be in many college students’ minds when they think of comedians, but Bob’s routine is one of the best in comedy. No one can hold a one-sided conversation like he can with his infamous ‘driving instructor’ bit.”

3. George Carlin – “George is plain funny, has been for 40 years and will be for as long as he keeps it going. The funniest parts of his routines are the absurdities of the human condition. George is one of those guys that if it were anyone else saying what he was, you would want to punch him.”

2. Mitch Hedberg – “Although he died recently, his comic legend will not any time soon. I wish he had more years to get his material out there but things happen. The reason Mitch is so funny is his entire mannerisms while telling his joke. His voice alone is somewhat funny, and his delivery is perfect. His simple observational humor could be very underrated, but his large following would suggest otherwise.”

1. Jerry Seinfeld – “Seinfeld has the amazing ability of telling a story like no other. He can take everyday, normally boring events and turn them into entire episodes. The show ‘Seinfeld’ is unusual because of how much it is his stand-up in TV form, and ‘I’m Telling You For the Last Time’ is a masterpiece and will not be trumped anytime soon!”