Rising Stars: Comedy

Good news, comedy fans: there's no need to sit through long nights at your local stand-up spot in search of hot, new comic talent. We've done the legwork for you, digitally, so all you have to do is sit back and crack up. You'll recognize Michael Ian Black from MTV's The State and VH1's I Love the . . . series, and you'll howl at his sexual identity crisis "Gay?" Another irreverent TV laugh-jockey, The Daily Show's Demetri Martin, delivers "Some Jokes" about the nutty games people play, from the board to the bed. And you've seen alt-comic Todd Barry on Flight of the Conchords, but he's at his funniest when pondering "MySpace . . ." and other chuckle fodder. Find more of the hottest up-and-coming comedy stars, in Next Steps.

Today's (and tomorrow's) hottest comedians earn their applause by letting us laugh at ourselves. Your inner metalhead will scream with glee as geek-comedy giant and "metal nerd" Brian Posehn — of The Sarah Silverman Program fame — offers head-banging hilarity on his musical parody "Metal By Numbers." Bay Area comedy king Kevin Avery lets you laugh at his "Apple Store" fixation, because he knows it means you're a sucker for sexy tech too. And anyone with a wacky family will have a hearty been-there laugh when Dov Davidoff expends his nervous energy on the topic of nutty parents with "Therapist, 'I Love You,' and Thanksgiving." Explore the full spectrum of tomorrow's comic titans, in Deep Cuts.

Today's rising comedy stars cover so many bases, you'll find laughs for every appetite. If you want a tour guide for a crack-up cross-country tour, try pint-sized redhead Kathleen Madigan's "68 States." In the mood for some homespun humor? Listen in on heartland phenomenon Gladys Hardy's line as she offers a certain Ms. DeGeneres her patented brand of quirky wisdom on "Ellen Calls Gladys." And if you want to tap into the hipper side of phone-call funny business, try Earles and Jensen, the only comedy act on legendary indie-rock label Matador Records, who earn their status as the Jerky Boys of the 21st century with their prank-call madness on "Taco Bell Dog and Taz Tattoos."

Tired of hearing recycled versions of the same stale jokes over and over? Get in touch with the fresh, new faces of comedy right here. These are the funnymen and women gaining stand-up stardom and making waves on screens both big and small. Get set to bust a gut to the quirky alt-comedy antics of the Andy Kaufman-esque "anti-comedian" Neil Hamburger and absurdist oddball Eugene Mirman, the cutting-edge kook who regularly opens for indie-rockers like the Shins and Modest Mouse. Or if you're up for a subtler route to the side-splitting, check in with the deceptively normal-seeming likes of Michael Showalter — star of The Baxter — and Jim Gaffigan, whose hilarious eccentricities are as deftly delivered as a mirthful Morse code message. Just make sure you're listening someplace where you won't be embarrassed to burst out into a serious fit of laughter.