#best YouTube videos

[evertomorrowart]

Best of YouTube 2023

Yes, I did spend the first week and change of January on this. I wish I could have had it done for New Years, but too many people came out with incredible work in December, so waiting turned out for the best.

What these creators do are a huge influence on my life, I would honestly have difficulty doing what I do without them. That isn't to say that my favorites of the year are *only* on this image--It was almost impossible to narrow down my favorites. Many creators I wanted to include couldn't fit on a single page, and too many of them made more than one video I wished I could draw too!

But, to all of you, thank you for what you do. You're an inspiration.

For those who don't know, further is an explanation.

At the bottom center is an artistic masterpiece by Defunctland: "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History." Over the last several years, Defunctland has risen from delightfully-entertaining commentary on decommissioned theme park attractions to occasionally dropping profound statements on the creation of art itself. "Journey to EPCOT Center: A Symphonic History" is worth treating like the cinematic experience it is: No second screen, you sit your ass down in front of a TV, set down the phone, and then you *watch it.* Any Disney, theme park, or independent film fan needs to pay attention to this one.

Bottom left is Caelan Conrad with their piece "Drop the T - The Deadly Consequences of Gay Respectability Politics." While I do think they've done more visually or artistically-daring pieces before, "Drop the T" is one of the most important videos released on YouTube in today's current climate of hate. We as queer folk (and our allies) need to understand how integral every identity of the queer experience has been since the start of the Civil Rights movement (and before!). While we are not identical, we *are* inseparable, and we deserve having our real history easily accessible.

TERFs and other conservative mouthpieces need not reply. Your opinions are trash. 😘

I cannot stop watching and rewatching this video by @patricia-taxxon, "On the Ethics of Boinking Animal People." It's not just a defense of furry fandom and its eccentricities, it's a thoughtful and passionate analysis of what the artform achieves that purely human representation can't. Patricia goes outside of her usual essay format to directly speak to the viewer about the elements that define furry media (the most succinct definition I've ever heard) and just how *human* an act loving animal cartoons really is.

As an artist who can draw furry characters, but never really got into erotic furry art, this video is a treasure. Why did I choose to have her drawn as a Ghibli character, hanging out with one of the tanukis from "Pom Poko?" Guess you'll have to watch, bruh.

Philosophy Tube continuously puts out videos that I would put on this list--I'm not even sure that "A Man Plagiarised my Work: Women, Money, and the Nation" is the best work she released in 2023. However, this video got many conversations going between myself and my partner, and the twist on the tail end of the video shocked us both to such a degree that I had no choice.

At the very tail end of the year, Big Joel released "Fear of Death." On his Little Joel channel, he described it as the singularly best video he's ever done, and I'm inclined to agree. However, for this illustration, I ended up repeatedly going back to a mini-series he did earlier in the year: "Three Stories at the End of the World." All three videos are deeply moving and haunting, and I was brought to tears by "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot." While it may be relatively-common knowledge that the original Gojira (Godzilla) film is horror grappling with the devastation America's rush to atomic dominance inflicted on Japan, Big Joel still manages to bring new words to the discussion. Please watch all three of the videos, but if, for some reason, you must have only one, let it be "We Must Destroy What the Bomb Cannot."

Y'all. Let me confess something. I hate football. I hate watching it, I associate seeing it from the stadiums with some of my worst childhood experiences, I despise collegiate and professional football (as institutions that destroy bodies and offer up children at the feet of its alter as a pillar of American culture)--

I. L o a t h e. Football.

But.

F.D. Signifier could get me to watch an entire hour-plus essay on why I should at least give a passing care. AND HE DID IT. I might think "F*ck the Police," the two-parter on Black conservatism, or his essay on Black men's connection to anime might be "better" videos, but this writer did the impossible and held my limited attention span towards football long enough to make a sincere case for NFL players--and reminds us that millionaires can *in fact* be workers. That alone is testament to his skill.

Sit down and watch "The REAL Reason NFL Running Backs Aren't Getting Paid." Any good anti-capitalist owes it to themselves.

CJ the X continuously puts out stunning, emotional videos, and can do it with the most seemingly-inconsequential starting points. A 30 second song? An incestuous commercial? Five minutes of Tangled? Sure, why not. Go destroy yourself emotionally by watching them. I'm serious. Do it.

Their video Stranger Things and the Meaning of Life manages to to remind us all why the way we react to media does, in fact, matter. Yes, even nostalgia-driven, mass-media schlock. Yes, how we interact with media matters, what it says about us matters, and we all deserve to seek out the whys.

Folding Ideas has spent the last few years articulating exactly why so much of our modern world feels broken, and because of that his voice continuously lives rent-free in my brain. While the tricks that scam artists and grifters use to try to swindle us are never new, the advancement of technology changes the aesthetics of their performances. Portions of Folding Ideas' explanations might seem dry when going into detail of how stocks work in This is Financial Advice, but every bit of it is necessary to peel back the layers of techno-babble and jargon and make sense of the results of "Meme Stocks."

Jessie Gender puts out nothing but bangers, her absolute unit of a video about Star Wars might be my new favorite thing ever, but none of her work hit so profoundly in 2023 than the two-parter "The Myth of 'Male Socialization'" and "The Trauma of Masculinity." There's so much about modern life that isolates and traumatizes us, and so much of it is just shrugged off as "normal." We owe it to ourselves to see the world in more vivid a color palette than we're initially given.

Panels drawn after Kate Beaton and "Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands."

"This is Not a Video Essay" is one of the most intense and beautiful pieces of art I've ever put into my eyeballs. Why do we create? What drives us to connect?

I don't even know what else to say about the Leftist Cooks' work, it repeatedly transcends the medium and platform. Watch every single one of their videos, but especially this one.

The likelihood you are terminally online and yet haven't heard of Hbomberguy's yearly forrays into destroying the careers of awful people is pretty slim. Just because it has millions of views doesn't mean that Hbomberguy's "Plagiarism and You(Tube)" isn't worth the hype. Too long? Shut up, it has chapters and YouTube holds your place, anyway. You think a deep dive into a handful of creators is only meaningless drama? Well, you're wrong, you wrong-opinion-haver. Plagiarism is an *everyone* problem because of the actual harm it creates--the history it erases, the labor it devalues, the art it marginalizes--which you would know if you watched "Plagiarism and You(Tube)".

Watch. The damn. Video.

In fact, watch all of them!

Thanks for reading this if you did.

#fanart #digital art #caricature #kate beaton #ducks #stranger things #apes #youtube #2023 #best of 2023 #video essay #hbomberguy #leftist cooks #cj the x #big joel #jessie gender #folding ideas #dan olson #jessie earl #neil and sarah #fd signifier #f.d. signifier #little joel #gojira #godzilla #philosophy tube #abigail thorn #caelan conrad #patricia taxxon #defunctland

[astronomodome]

i hope you get horse-cursed

#procrastination is the best motivator #if you arent going buck wild over random interactions in a minecraft youtube video are you even really living #anyway what the heck was that #hermitcraft #hermitblr #bdubs #gtwscar #my art #tw blood

[black-and-yellow]

#Saw a man bite straight through a chicken bone on YouTube. #I was gripped. In awe. #A jaw strength rivaled only by - I thought to myself - Present Mic #can't even remember how I got onto the video but it's stuck with me ever since #he had a captivating positive vibe. I would enjoy a meal with him. The chicken looked a little underdone though #bnha #mha #shouta aizawa #hizashi yamada #present mic #bnha comic #not even technically a comic this bad boy is two slides #always thinking about the rooftop gang naming Sushi like 'whats everyones favourite food?' #and Yamada says 'fried chicken' like that would be the best name for a cat- actually. you know what. that is a pretty good name for a cat #Might call my next tarantula Fried Chicken. Who knows? #Edited the last panel to take out the speech bubble cause it looked like I was implying it was weird to eat bone marrow #But I meant the entire bone itself like the crunchy bit #But apparently they do that in some places so I thought that it might come across as a bit insensitive and I didnt wanna get cancelled. #eat bones if you want I would love to eat bones but I'm a coward #It's not really a thing in the UK I don't think. I've never seen anyone do it. I guess we just produce a lot of food waste. #so nobody was going to tell me you could eat bones? I just had to find out myself on Youtube?

[gncgang]

are we gonna have a problem?

#my posts #the pillar men are THEEEE MEAN GIRLS #THE FIRST TO EVER DO IT #AND THE BEST #jjba #jojo's bizarre adventure #kars #wamuu #esidisi #santana #sanviento #pillar men #battle tendency #jjba part 2 #jjba battle tendency #jjba bt #joseph joestar #lisa lisa #elizabeth joestar #caesar zeppeli #jjba amv #video #this is. the sixth? seventh? time i've tried to post this. if it doesn't work i'm just putting a youtube link in

[deadpoets]

LUKE SLATTERY as BOBBY MOCH in THE BOYS IN THE BOAT (2023)

#the boys in the boat #tbitbedit #theboysintheboatedit #bobby moch #luke slattery #*mine #*mygifs #right now i'm just taking clips from youtube videos #so i'll probably make a better one when the digital releases ? bc the quality is not the absolute best right now sdhdjjd #also i just think he's kind of neat and i am a little embarrassed #but ! also this is tumblr so i don't care that much

[majortomwaits]

Hozier and Annie Lennox performing Take Me To Church/I Put A Spell On You at the 57th Grammy Awards in 2015

#hozier #andrew hozier byrne #annie lennox #THE TRENCHES I WENT THROUGH IN ORDER TO OBTAIN THE VIDEO GOOD GOD #youtube only has audio so i did my best to find the video #stuff

[yukipri]

They're so in synch, and so utterly captivated

Left lil boy is Rex (Snowshoe), right lil boy is Cody (Siamese)

Cats tag: #YukiPriASLKittens

#YukiPriASLKittens #cats of tumblr #cats #kittens #Cat!Rex #Cat!Cody #snowshoe cat #siamese cat #birds #in case it isn't clear they're watching a bird video on youtube and no birds were harmed in the making of this video #but just look at their lil dark ears go!! #they kept trying to see where the birds went off screen... #they're doing their best

[smoshpostiing]

hey smoshblr i have a little surprise for you...

the BEST OF SHOURTNEY videos list is now available as a playlist on youtube!!

ive been working on this playlist for a few weeks in secret (obviously another certain secret got me a little sidetracked) but its finally here!!

it's dedicated to all you beautiful people on this blog and in this community, i love you guys so so much and your support and friendship means the world to me. now go enjoy the playlist and let's celebrate our newlywed silly little guys!!!💍🤍💐🫶

special dedications to @unknownteapot @3rddimension @winterxgardener @snowyoctopus @sage-lights , love you guys 🤍

#smosh #courtney miller #shayne topp #shourtney #smosh cast #smosh courtney #smosh shayne #smosh shourtney #shartney #love them sm #i was there man #best of shourtney #best of shourtney videos list #best of smosh #shourtney smosh #shourtney playlist #youtube #smoshblr #smoshpostiing

[dear-ao3]

katya abandoned me (went home for christmas) and now i am dying (im alone with the ghosts) waiting for someone to rescue me (my tumblr followers to send me asks)

#not a tag #from saph #keep me company guys #just me my youtube video my pasta and 96k of my best friends :)

[gremliinsart]

Your bubble propoganda came in the form of putting him in a letter with cute decor, glitter, stickers, stamps, and cursive, and slipping him under my door.

I grieve the timeline where you never drew Carnival Bubble. I would be absolutely DEVASTATED if he never made it in the au... IM SO SORRY IVE COME TO LOVE HIM SO MUCH... CAINE WOULD N O T BE THE FUCKING SAME IN HIS WRITING WITH OUT HIM.

Wehehe 💖💖 I gave you an offer you couldn't refuse >:3

It always makes me happy seeing people in the comments going "BUBBLE IS SO CUTE!!" Everytime I see a drawing of Carnival Bubble I kick my feet and giggle and point and go "Ahaha! I did that!" It always brightens my day UwU

I have partly to thank my sibling who encouraged me to DIY my own Carnival Bubble after I was in shambles to see my favorite little guy missing from the line up

Anyway enough rambling I'M EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YOU DO WITH THEM I KNOW YOU GOT SOMETHING PLANNED I KNOWWWW 🫵

BUBBLE LOVERS REJOICE!! WE'RE IN THE GOOD TIMELINE!! YIPPIE!!

#Listen I'm of the opinion that if your au doesn't have Bubble then WHAT'S 👏 THE 👏 POINT 👏/j #...or am I #I'm glad you came to love them as much as I do because tbh they were a very self indulgent design #listen it's my brand at this point. I see something that could use more pink and hearts and I do it!! #I'm such a lovecore ass bitch what can I say? #and again I'm always a sucker for a main character with a little buddy who's their best friend 💖 #Caine deserves a little guy who follows him around and shows him funny cat videos on YouTube ok? #sits in his lap like a dog and talks about the history of cotton candy y'know?

[lil-beanz000]

The seasons are coming~ lil request from the roomie 😘🤌 wanted more love for Mikey. How could I ever say no 😭

#tmnt #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2012 mikey #tmnt 2012 michelangelo #tmnt fanart #my art #mmmmm i am excited for the snow #its still rainy an cold still #my pets demand snow to play in! #i watched police dash camera videos on youtube while drawing this #im addicted to it #my neighbor prob think im crazy seeing red an hlue light flash from my window pfff #its fine yall #im just drawing 🐢 #ice cream kitty makes best snowman head

[flamevbirdv]

video essayists for these trying times!

I watch a lot of youtube so I thought I could round up some recs!

verilybitchie my favorite of the list. bi, trans lense on queer media. expert on calling out lazy representation. famously known for their video "good lgbt representation is boring" but my favorite is a bisexual history of dracula

The Morbid Zoo incredibly smart and sharp commentary on movies and social media. horror fan, clown fan, twilight apologist. my favorite video of hers is the pale man:physical fascism

Maggie Mae Fish powerhouse of the media analysis sphere. I learn so much every time I watch any of her videos. very clear spoken and funny. if you haven't checked her out yet this is your sign. some of her greates hits are "LGBT in fantasy" "superman won't save the cat" "fight club, an analysis" but loki, stalker & the war on terror blew my mind

Princess Weekes bi black icon. the place to go for videos on pop culture, race, feminism, etc. her video how true crime reveals the corruption of the legal system changed my life, no hyperbole. also check out her video on "purity culture & fandom"

Rowan Ellis queer media and history. recently tackles cultural issues like "the infantilization of millenial women" and "corporate queerbaiting" the problem with activist characters is a personal favorite of mine

Ladyknightthebrave a channel with less videos than most of the folks above but you need to watch her video on holocaust cinema

Quality Culture channel shared by two people who love movies (and music!) and research the shit out of their videos. some I really enjoyed are "death note: finding meaning in a meaningless world" "the iron giant: a study in heartfeel film making" and the conflicting ideals of hayao miyazaki

The Princess and the Scrivener it's been a while since they uploaded a video but if you are a fan of disney, these are your gals. however I have to reccomend their videos on dissability and ableism "the wonder of misscasting" and the shape of ableism a joke on the shape of water, yes this video is that old

BONUS!

Elliot Sang he talks about the real world with probably the most nuanced view I've seen from a youtuber ever. another list of greatest hits: "ADHD: a nightmare under capitalism" " is tik tok ruining music?" and "the problem with video essays" LMAO

#video essay #queer media #queer analysis #youtube #james somerton #adyacent #recommendations #mine #bisexuals make the best videos XD #hbomberguy

[pocketgalaxies]

a whole hour of laura bailey talking about acting. is this the real life

#just finished this and it is fantastic #she is SO phenomenal at what she does she is simply the best of the best it is a privilege to have these kinds of talks imo #love to see austin wintory an accomplished composer in games just absolutely GUSH about her the whole time. he says what we're all thinking #video #nova shh #laura bailey #austin wintory #stray gods #gaming #critical role #(they don't talk about cr but laura posts go in cr lmao) #tlou #Youtube

[yuwigqi]

Dick's so extra every single one of his kicks looks like this

#Batfam #Dick Grayson #Robin #Nightwing #Batman #The wrestler is Yuhi from Stardom #I miss her #She used to have dozens of matches on Youtube back in like 2014 I mean like a huge amount there were like top 50 moves videos of her #Best kick in wrestling history lol #It's called the “Honey Flash” #if you even care

[heartshapedcreaturefromcriptoon]

You guys .... I just realized something ....

Lilith is supposed to be Lady Gaga ....

She's the number one trend setter in Hell ...

Absolute Icon, Queen, Mother...

Both Lilith and Alastor were gone for seven years... Probably because they're working together ....

People were all losing their minds over Alastor knowing how to use phrases like "Clout Chaser" and "That's The Tea!" and ether assumed it was "Out Of Character" or that "Angel must've taught him a few things off camera..."

... But yeah, what if being around Angel didn't teach him how to talk like that?

What if... Being around Lilith for seven years, did?

#Hazbin Hotel #Lilith Morningstar #Alastor #alastor hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel alastor #hazbin hotel lilith #lilith hazbin hotel #The Radio Demon #Radio Demon #I wish Viv's tumblr wasn't so cringe or that twitter didn't suck because if she could see this she'd giving me the '👀' emoji ... #Best not to interact with her tumblr if she's still on it anyway because if I were her I would've kept that thing nuked and she might still #have to nuke it in the future ... l o l. #video #undescribed #Youtube

[spearxwind]

YOU GUYS NEED TO GO WATCH MONKEY WRENCH NOW NOW NOW NOW NOW

#I FINALLY WATCHED THESE AND THEYRE SO FUCKING FUN IM OBSESSED!!!!!!!!!!! #thunderclap #video #monkey wrench #THE EPS ARE SO GOOD AND THEYRE AVAILABLE FOR FREE ON YT WE GOTTA SUPPORT ARTISTS FR #ive been a fan of zeurel for ages ever since the deviantart OCT days and god this project slaps so fucking hard #we gotta support em fr this is one of the best indie shows ive seen in a WHILE #PLEASE DO YOURSELF A FAVOR !!!! WATCH!!!! #ALSO the captions are fucking hilarious as well they def added to it when i was watching #GHOST EGG REAL !??!?!? #Youtube