▶ THE TOP 50

THE 50 BEST CHANNELS ON YOUTUBE · RANKED · SEPTEMBER 2026

The master ranking. Every channel scored 0–100 across our five axes, re-ranked each issue. The number-one slot is earned, not rented. See every channel we've reviewed →

  1. #1 3Blue1Brown ★ 96 ESSENTIAL Mathematics / Education —
  2. #2 Kurzgesagt ★ 94 ESSENTIAL Science / Animation #013
  3. #3 Every Frame a Painting ★ 92 ESSENTIAL Film Analysis —
  4. #4 Primitive Technology ★ 91 ESSENTIAL Maker / Survival —
  5. #5 Jacob Geller ★ 91 ESSENTIAL Video Games × Philosophy × Art #012
  6. #6 Adam Neely ★ 91 ESSENTIAL Music Theory / Jazz Bass #010
  7. #7 CGP Grey ★ 91 ESSENTIAL Education / Explainer #004S
  8. #8 Lemmino ★ 91 ESSENTIAL Documentary / Mystery #007
  9. #9 Jenny Nicholson ★ 91 ESSENTIAL Long-form comic essay #014
  10. #10 Fireship ★ 90 ESSENTIAL Technology / Programming #001
  11. #11 Dan Carlin's Hardcore History ★ 90 ESSENTIAL History / Long-Form #001
  12. #12 Townsends ★ 90 ESSENTIAL Historical Living / Cooking #009
  13. #13 Mark Rober ★ 89 EXCELLENT Engineering / Entertainment #002
  14. #14 Veritasium ★ 89 EXCELLENT Science / Education —
  15. #15 Vsauce ★ 89 EXCELLENT Science / Philosophy —
  16. #16 Fall of Civilizations ★ 89 EXCELLENT Narrative History / Documentary #018
  17. #17 Technology Connections ★ 88 EXCELLENT Technology / History —
  18. #18 Conan O'Brien / Team Coco ★ 88 EXCELLENT Comedy / Talk #002
  19. #19 Contrapoints ★ 88 EXCELLENT Political Essay / Trans Studies #011
  20. #20 exurb1a ★ 88 EXCELLENT Philosophy / Existential —
  21. #21 Clickspring ★ 88 EXCELLENT Clockmaking / Machining #009
  22. #22 Game Maker's Toolkit ★ 88 EXCELLENT Game Design Criticism #016
  23. #23 Internet Historian ★ 87 EXCELLENT Internet Culture / Documentary #003
  24. #24 Theo Von ★ 87 EXCELLENT Comedy / Podcast #002
  25. #25 Good Mythical Morning ★ 87 EXCELLENT Entertainment / Variety #006
  26. #26 Caspian Report ★ 87 EXCELLENT Geopolitics / Analysis #013
  27. #27 Historia Civilis ★ 87 EXCELLENT Ancient History —
  28. #28 JCS — Criminal Psychology ★ 86 EXCELLENT True Crime / Analysis #007
  29. #29 Tasting History with Max Miller ★ 86 EXCELLENT History × Cooking #012
  30. #30 Breaking Points ★ 86 EXCELLENT Political Analysis / Podcast #011
  31. #31 12tone ★ 86 EXCELLENT Music Theory / Analysis #010
  32. #32 Like Stories of Old ★ 86 EXCELLENT Philosophy / Video Essay #013
  33. #33 Nerdwriter1 ★ 86 EXCELLENT Art / Film Analysis #003
  34. #34 NileRed ★ 86 EXCELLENT Chemistry —
  35. #35 Stuff Made Here ★ 86 EXCELLENT Engineering / Maker —
  36. #36 J. Kenji Lopez-Alt ★ 86 EXCELLENT Food Science / Cooking #015
  37. #37 Scott The Woz ★ 86 EXCELLENT Retro Gaming / Comedy #008
  38. #38 Drew Gooden ★ 86 EXCELLENT Deadpan Comedy Commentary #014
  39. #39 Noclip ★ 86 EXCELLENT Games Documentary #016
  40. #40 Binging with Babish ★ 85 EXCELLENT Cooking / Entertainment #009
  41. #41 Tantacrul ★ 85 EXCELLENT Music Software / Comedy Essay #010
  42. #42 Philosophy Tube ★ 85 EXCELLENT Political Philosophy / Theatre #011
  43. #43 Real Engineering ★ 85 EXCELLENT Engineering / Education —
  44. #44 Chinese Cooking Demystified ★ 85 EXCELLENT Regional Chinese Cooking #015
  45. #45 The Slow Mo Guys ★ 85 EXCELLENT Science / Entertainment #006
  46. #46 Map Men (Jay and Mark) ★ 85 EXCELLENT Geography / Comedy #009
  47. #47 Smarter Every Day ★ 85 EXCELLENT Science / Curiosity —
  48. #48 TED-Ed ★ 85 EXCELLENT Animated Education / Global #013
  49. #49 Coffeezilla ★ 84 EXCELLENT Investigative / Tech Fraud #017
  50. #50 AI Explained 84 EXCELLENT AI Analysis / Benchmarks #017