Beth Crowley
Beth Crowley is a singer-songwriter who posts her own original songs, many of which are inspired by young adult novels, and also covers of popular songs and other vlog-type discussion videos. I absolutely adore her videos and her songs – my favorites are probably “Midnight,” which is based on Marissa Meyer’s book Cinder, “I Am Not Nothing,” which is based on C.J. Davidson’s A Daughter’s Curse, and “Eyes Wide Open,” which is based on Glamour of Midnight by Casey L. Bond. But, really, I love all of her songs, and I think her lyrics and music are extraordinarily creative and compelling to listen to. Whenever she posts a new one and it pops into my sub box, it’s an insta-click for me.
Equilanora
Another music-based channel, Equilanora posts lyric videos of lesser-known songs and artists. I’ve discovered a lot of artists through this channel and a decent chunk of their videos makes up one of my writing playlists. I’ve often discovered a song/artist through this channel and then gone on to buy/explore even more of their music, like Boy Epic and Aurora. However, the songs posted tend to stray more into the alternative territory, lots of indie stuff with occasional mainstream entries, so it depends on what your music taste is.
RedLetterMedia
These guys are one of the best film review/analysis channels on Youtube because they are able to successfully combine humor and actual discussion/analysis for a balanced blend of entertainment. Their Half in the Bag series is focused primarily on films currently in theaters, and though I don’t always agree with them, I find their opinions well thought-out and they offer reasoning behind their reviews. Their other popular series, Best of the Worst (and it’s other incarnations, such as Wheel of the Worst and Plinketto) are more focused on the discussion of “bad” films, either standard “B” films of various genres or totally random items like old instructional guides or educational videos. They also sometimes post interviews with folks in the film industry or other related fields or reviews/discussions of older films. I always look forward to seeing their videos in my sub box, and the effort they put into their work is evident because their videos are often over and hour long and the editing is consistently on point.
Soundlyawake / Nicola Foti
I’ve been following this channel for a long time and always appreciate the amount of effort he puts into his videos, as his editing is always polished and the content is consistently entertaining. He does comedy-style videos featuring a couple of different characters, such as the ever-hilarious “Keisha,” but also spoofs, music videos, Q&A style vids, discussions on serious or topical subjects, and a series called “What the Sweet F*ck,” with fellow Youtuber Megan Tonjes which is kind of a funny pop-culture/current events-style video series that is always hilarious. His side channel, “stillsoundlyawake,” is also one of the only vlog-style channels I watch, as he chronicles his life with his boyfriend Ken, adorable dog Warden, and friends/family.
ManlyBadassHero
I used to be really into the “gaming” side of Youtube, but even though I don’t watch many Let’s Plays or gaming vids anymore, I still make an effort to watch Manly’s videos. He does an excellent job of actually focusing on the game he is playing while also offering up theories and providing commentary and jokes, not letting over the top attempts at humor drown out the actual gameplay, which manly gaming Youtubers tend to do. He also plays a lot of RPG-maker games, which are my all-time favorite to watch – and he explores all possible endings of such games, then discusses his opinion and theories about the game overall once the play-through is complete. He offers a bit more of a “laid back” viewing experience when it comes to games, which is exactly the way I like it.
CinemaSins
This channel offers “commentary” on specific films in a unique way – by pinpointing and counting the number of “sins” they commit. Common pitfalls that films seem to fall into are overuse of narration, long logo sequences, or shoehorning in the name of the film into a bit of dialogue. Though I do think CinemaSins gets a little nitpicky at times, and a lot of their “sins” are contrived or silly, I still find their observations funny, and I’m aware that a good portion of the things they are pointing out are intended for the sake of comedy. Basically, if you are not offended by your favorite films being ripped to shreds for continuity/content/dialogue/random “sins,” then you’ll probably enjoy their videos! After all, as their tagline reads, “no movie is without sin.”
Frostwritten 