There are a lot of quality channels on YouTube for every category imaginable. While there is quite a bit of junk on there, there are a lot of hidden gems and large channels that are incredibly informative and entertaining. Other the last decade I have been subscribing to channels little by little and I think as of now I have a fairly large subscription base to share. Some of these channels I’ve just found, and many I have been following for years. You have may heard of some of these and maybe you’ll discover something new and original.
Caddicarus (Gaming)
Caddicarus is a channel I have been following for around 5 years now. He’s a British gamer and lover of the PlayStation which is hard to come by on YouTube. His British humor hit all the right spots and I feel he’s very original compared to many other gaming channels out there. His format has changed over the years, but my favorite videos are reviews of older PlayStation games. He does talk about new PlayStation titles, but these aren’t my thing.
Channel Awesome (Gaming…kinda)
Specifically The Nostalgia Critic. While it’s mostly regular movies or TV shows, video game related movies or TV shows do pop-up every so often. He may seem cringy to some, but his format has been the same for almost ten years and it’s highly entertaining. He’s very knowledgable in movies and TV shows across most decades. He usually reviews awful or lesser known movies, but sometimes he will review gems or classic well known films. Occasionally he will feature guests, but the other Channel Awesome staff will reguarly engage in skits themed around the reviewed film.
Cinemassacre (Gaming – Pre Screen Wave Buy-Out)
Yes, The Angry Video Game nerd is actually one of the first YouTubers I regularly watched. This was around 11 years ago. I also mention the pre-Screen Wave buy-out as his quality has dropped over the years. While a lot of popular shows have stopped such as Board James, The Angry Video Game Nerd is his bread and butter. Cussing and trash talking, mostly, NES games is his claim to fame and it holds up very well to this day, but the issue over the last few years has been his lack of enthusiasm on screen. He no longer writes most of his episodes anymore and they come off dry and disconnected sometimes. Other famous shows like Cinemassacre’s Monster Madness during October is also gone, but his other movie reviews are enjoyable. I suggest watching his backlog of episodes pre-2017 or so and you will enjoy it quite a bit.
DidYouKnowGaming? (Gaming)
Most people will probably have heard of this channel, but these guys are fantastic. The UK team of researchers have given us years of entertaining gaming trivia, that I myself would never have found out otherwise. The formatting has mostly stayed the same over the years but with added episodes like Did You Know Gaming – Extra, and episodes focusing on lost games by Unseen64 and various other trivia. One of the popular things DYKG does are their guest narrators. These are mostly YouTube gaming channels from well-known to rising stars. It’s fun to see who is featured next and sometimes your favorite YouTuber might pop-up.
Game Sack (Gaming)
An upcoming YouTube who mostly talks about retro gaming. This ranges from perusing old catalogs to taking apart arcade machines and systems. He’s incredibly informative and if you are a retro gamer might enjoy the knowledge he brings to the scene.
GVMERS (Gaming)
GVMERS is in my top five favorite channels. This incredibly informative long form documentary style channel is one-of-a-kind. While DidYouKnowGaming? does short rapid fire clips, GVMERS focuses on a single series or game giving you full insight into the development, personal issues, and overall story of a game or series. The formatting hasn’t changed, but the narrator has an incredible voice and this is a fantastic channel to binge watch.
JayzTwoCents (Tech)
Jayz is a fantastic channel for exclusive PC gaming knowledge, mostly on the hardware side. He dives deep into overclocks, benchmarking, PC building, and is overall a charming personality on screen. Some say he’s cringy and egotistical, but I believe in the toxic world of PC gaming we live in these days you need to stand your ground and stick to facts which he does. I think his goofiness brings a “dad” feeling to the younger PC gaming YouTube crowd.
JonTronShow (Gaming)
JonTron is one of my favorite YouTubers of all time, but his schedule is rather inconsistent. Sometimes going on hiatus for an entire year, he at least brings quality content and has a striking personality that no one else on YouTube has. His videos have veered away from gaming these days, but his back catalog is quite entertaining to binge watch. It’s not so much the knowledge he brings to his show, but his explosive personality.
LGR – Lazy Game Reviews (Tech/Gaming)
LGR is in my top five favorite YouTube channels for sure. His content has been phenomenal over the years and his charm, voice, and demeanor over the camera is just so enjoyable. You could easily binge his whole channel in a week and be left wanting more. He mostly focuses on retro PC gaming, but he does have various shows like LGR Oddware that looks at old hardware, mostly from the 90’s and early 2000’s, that is one of my favorite shows on YouTube period. It’s such a niche and fascinating channel yet can attract even the most curious observer. Clint is someone I hope stays on YouTube for years to come, and the only bad thing I have to say about the channel is there aren’t enough uploads per week, but what we get is pure quality.
Linus Tech Tips (Tech/Gaming)…kinda
Well everyone and their mom has heard of Linus. The Canadian super star who flaunts the ability to live on the bleeding edge of technology mostly from just sponsorships. The millionaire YouTube star has a fully staffed studio and warehouse, and you can tell he isn’t afraid to show off the cash. Videos ranging from $50k+ orders for machining equipment,and some of the most expensive PC builds no one will ever be able to obtain. He also lets you tour his mansion where he frequently installs insanely expensive systems of various kinds. He clearly has a successful business and his videos are still only for a certain audience. He focuses mostly on mainstream consumer electronics and PC building, benchmarking, and testing. Some of his videos are very informative, but he’s not a source for deep knowledge of anything really. He has reviews for all the latest tech, albeit short and not in depth, but still entertaining.
Linus is also just a personality and is fun to watch on screen. His staff have grown to become popular people on his channel and are beloved sometimes more than Linus himself. He clearly has a staff of varying expertise, but you tell the channel overwhelms him and he’s pulled in too many directions. Some claim his audience is mostly 12 year-olds, and it might be, but his convention LTX is also very popular and attended in the tens of thousands. Some of their tactics have been questioned and scrutinized like the click-baity thumbnails and short video lengths that bow down to the almighty YouTube algorithms for pure profit have been considered shady and cheap. Take the channel with a grain of salt and enjoy just seeing the latest tech being used.
Matt McMuscles (Gaming)
A YouTuber in my area (Seattle), Matt’s series “Wha Happun?” is similar to GVMERS’ documentary episodes, but in shorter episodes and posted more frequently and also covers more obscure games. He regularly plays niche and hidden gems, but it’s this series that makes his channel a true gem. The series is so entertaining you can binge watch them all and want more.
RMC – The Cave (Gaming/Tech)
RMC is a very relaxing channel. The host, Niel, has a calming British accent and takes us into his world of 8-bit computing and gaming by restoring pieces of hardware, showing off forgotten tech, and overall just having a good time. His channel is very binge worthy and if you love 8-bit computers, or just old tech in general, this is a wonderful channel to get into.
His series “Trash to Treasure” is by far one of the favorites. From retro-briting systems to resoldering chips and resistors, the list goes on. It’s very cathartic and relaxing.
Scott the Woz (Gaming)
Scott is easily in my top five favorite YouTubers. His personality is just smooth, smart, clever, and witty. He’s what Cinemassacre used to be in their hayday, but without all the cursing. His love for Nintendo games from his childhood is what drives the channel. He frequently will go in depth on various Nintendo franchises from the past and even talk about shovelware for various systems. He’s a joy to watch on screen and frequently gets laughs out of me.
Shesez (Gaming)
Shesez’ main show Boundary Break is a wonderful education show like DidYouKnowGaming? but with breaking the game’s camera and pulling off the curtain of illusion that games give us. He will go around game levels showing hidden Easter eggs, curious anomalies, and various things that a niche group of gamers like myself enjoy watching. He has a wonderfully charming personality and has been steadily growing over the last couple of years. It’s a very unique channel and there is nothing like it out there that’s dedicated to this type of thing.
Stop Skeletons From Fighting (Gaming)
From my own neck of the woods, the Seattle based gaming couple is just chock full of trivia when it comes to retro gaming. From covering obscure hidden gems, weird hardware, and overall coverage. He has a bubbly and explosive personality and the various shows on the channel are quite entertaining with my favorite being Punching Weight.
Techmoan (Tech)
Techmoan is one of my top five favorite YouTubers. He mostly focuses on retro audio equipment and is your go-to source for knowledge in retro 80’s and 90’s hi-fi equipment, stereos, tape recorders, and boom boxes. His channel is so vast it took me over a month to binge watch all his shows. They are so entertaining and his British voice is so soothing and just captures you attention and keeps you focused. It’s a channel unlike any other on YouTube and he’s peaked at over 1 million subscribers.
Technology Connections (Tech)
Alec is a wonderful person to watch on screen. He talks about technology in regards to mostly what we live and deal with daily. From air conditioners to dish washers to how reflectors in signs work. His channel may be a bit dry to some as he goes deep into the technology and science of things, but overall I have come to binge his channel and find everything he posts fascinating. There’s no other channel that dives into the science of everyday things we take for granted.
The 8-Bit Guy (Gaming/Tech)
The 8-Bit Guy is both a game developer and lover of 8-bit computers. His vast knowledge is something you won’t get on any other channel as he also programs frequently and delves into the technical aspect of all 8-bit computers. He videos are made at a steady pace and are easy to keep up with. He frequently restores computers on his channel and it’s niche, but very interesting nonetheless. One of my favorite shows he did was traveling around Texas visiting retro tech and gaming companies’ buildings and sites. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do, but sadly due to lack of popularity, he couldn’t finish the show. It’s things like this that make me love YouTube and you would never see on TV.
Adrian’s Digital Basement (Tech/Gaming)
Similar to RMC, LGR, and The 8-Bit Guy. Adrian talks about retro gaming both the tech and the games. He’s very informative, a joy on camera, and it just feels like your hanging with the guy in his gaming den talking about retro tech and there’s a clear passion for it here. His channel is steadily rising and is a blast to binge watch.
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