Want the best YouTube channels to watch to acquire knowledge to be smart and entertained? Here are the 50 good YouTube channels to subscribe to.
It is crystal clear that screen time shot up during the pandemic, with streaming services and on-demand content seeing the biggest bumps in viewership. Most of us experienced these changes firsthand. And now that restrictions are easing, scientists think we’ll never quite go back to our old viewing habits.
YouTube is currently huge since it was launched in 2005. It’s the most-searched-for website, has well over a billion users, and people spend countless hours on the site. It’s also become a platform for YouTubers to become millionaires and superstars in their own right.
Planned as an online dating service platform during its early days that turned into an almost social media website and mobile application, YouTube is not only just a video-sharing place for everyone to upload what they catch on video but also an ocean of people who publish videos of different content that hardly anyone expected to skyrocket suddenly.
The video hosting service is used, especially by most young people, to watch music videos, comedy skits, how-to guides, food recipes, life stories, career tips, everyday hacks, short films, and more.
For the past years, the numbers on the YouTube community have surged because of the necessary tutorials, mostly educational clips, that I need for my studies, assignments, projects, and other school works.
You simply cannot get enough of watching for hours and hours of videos. You surely may have been captivated by their interesting thumbnails or catchy titles.
I personally think millions of students and others looking for information best get them in-depth explanation by watching content on YouTube even more than the traditional method of learning where the presence of a tutor is felt.
Grainy family videos like “Charlie bit my finger” have been replaced with vlogs and high-octane stunts by creators like David Dobrik. Simple, minute-long skits have been succeeded by lengthy, multi-part docuseries’ by Shane Dawson and super high-quality production videos by Casey Neistat.
The relationship between creators and the platform is also more strained than ever, with vague and unpopular policy changes, YouTube Rewind getting more and more dislikes every year, and YouTubers suffering from mental health issues like burnout.
But YouTube is still a place people keep returning to for a fun and lighthearted entertainment when everything else in the world might seem bleak.
More time spent with alternatives to traditional TV is here to stay. So why not make the most of it? YouTube may be a wild bazaar of every kind of content under the sun, but it’s also home to plenty of channels that can enlighten as much as they entertain.
There are over 50 million channels on YouTube. But only a few are worth your time.
Below are some of my recommended list of channels as well as featured and handpicked videos that you should give a try. This list is updated from time to time whenever I catch another YouTube channel to feature or whenever someone recommends me a channel to give it a go.
Below, TheVibely has put together a list of 50 interesting and informative YouTube channels to help you learn, entertained, and grow healthy and wealthy.
Best YouTube Channels To Subscriber To
1. Skillshare
Skillshare gets you equipped with the skills you need to join the creator economy.
2. Vsauce
Vsauce is a YouTube channel’s name that brings answers to the most insightful questions in life, with a sense of humor.
3. Talks at Google
Covering all aspects of life, from money to mindset, you can learn from the best. Most popular video:
4. Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business YouTube channel brings Insights on leadership & innovation to help you change the world.
5. LegalEagle
Devin James Stone, better known online as LegalEagle, is an American lawyer and YouTuber best known for his application of law experience to entertainment and pop culture.
Want to know things if it is legal or illegal within the American jurisdiction? This may be the channel for you. You’ll learn things about the American justice system that even normal people can get because of the instructive details he gives throughout his videos.
LegalEagle is all about giving you an insider’s view of the legal system. Have some fun and learn to think like a lawyer.
6. TED-Ed
TED—which stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design—features “ideas worth spreading.” The speaker series launched in 1984, and there are now more than 177K TED talks available online as of 2022.
TED Talks is the world’s leading thinkers and doers who give the talk of their lives.
TED-Ed offers short, carefully curated educational videos about anything under the sun with a mission of expanding and spreading great ideas. These videos are always portrayed in animated representations, and the terms used that are usually used in professional and educative manners are always converted into easy-to-understand, easy-to-digest words so that the information could reach its ulterior goal.
7. BrainCraft
Brain Craft is a scientist who teaches us how to leverage psychology to improve our daily well-being.
8. GQ
GQ has been the premier men’s magazine that covers style, culture, politics, and more. And by more, I mean there are sports and entertainment, as well, of course. But just because it’s a men’s magazine, it’s for men only. Women are also featured in their videos—celebrities, professionals, and normal people alike. If you want to watch magazine-like videos of your favorite personality or have educational insights into how experts do their job, then this one is for you.
9. Brights Side
Bright Side is a YouTube channel operated by media publisher TheSoul Publishing. Founded in 2017, the channel uploads videos regarding how-to trivia as well as history and knowledge.
10. Marques Brownlee
Marques Keith Brownlee, also known professionally as MKBHD, is an American YouTuber and professional ultimate frisbee player, best known for his technology-focused videos as well as his podcast Waveform. As of December 2021, he has over 15 million subscribers and over 2.7 billion total video views.
11. 5-Minutes Crafts
5-Minute Crafts is a DIY-style YouTube channel owned by TheSoul Publishing. As of November 2021, it is the 11th most-subscribed channel on the platform and the highest-performing YouTube Short to date. The channel has drawn criticism for unusual and potentially dangerous life hacks and its reliance on clickbait.
12. Veritasium
Veritasium is a channel of science and engineering videos featuring experiments, expert interviews, cool demos, and discussions with the public about everything science.
13. Jubilee
In a world amidst chaos, understanding, communicating, and loving each other becomes harder and harder. But a company, with empathy with its vision, somehow blurs the visions until it becomes more and more visible and comprehensible; by seeing the world and people through uncluttered visions.
In 2010, Jubilee started with a single video of the CEO of Jubilee busking at a New York subway stop to raise money for charity. Nine years later, the channel has been creating weekly videos for our beautiful 5M+ community all around the world.
It all started with a single idea: to create a movement for human good. It’s a simple goal, but one that’s had an awe-inspiring domino effect over time. People want to connect on a deeper level, be challenged, empathize with one another, and share vulnerably; and they want to do it in an engaging way.
Sometimes it feels like the world is becoming more divided, chaotic, and cluttered. But if the company had learned anything in the time growing Jubilee, it’s this: we are all inextricably linked and want to live for something deeper. Living for empathy and human good is a resilient vision and one that is worthy of pursuit.
14. The Skin Deep
For about four years, the organization The Skin Deep has been encouraging us to have deeper conversations with loved ones on their YouTube channel. In a series called “The And,” the public is invited to take part in a question and answer session. They sit at a table and pick up cards, and take turns to read the question out loud to their partner.
Sometimes couples have been together for years. Sidra and Ben in the photo above, for example, were one of the first-ever couples to feature, and have appeared in five rounds over the course of their relationship. In other videos, couples have been through tough times like infidelity or fears about the future.
Sometimes sons and daughters will appear with their father or mother to talk about the past. It’s raw and painful to watch people rifle through the pain in their lives in an otherwise silent room. But with the intensity also comes clarity and solace that tough conversations can be had and relationships can be rebuilt.
It’s easy to fall down a hole with “The And” videos because, as anyone in the comments will attest to, you quickly develop your favorites.
15. How to Cook That
The internet is filled with hacks and tips and tricks, but the main question is: Do they really work? Some do, some don’t, some are surprisingly helpful, and some are just purely dangerous to even try.
How to Cook That is a website and YouTube baking channel that provides video recipes on baking and decorating themed cakes, desserts, chocolate creations, and other confectionery.
Ann Reardon’s contents mostly contain recipes for mouth-watering desserts for those with the sweetest of teeth. She also publishes debunking videos where she debunks popular videos by focusing on their misinformation and disinformation tactics whilst trying the supposed “hacks” herself.
16. Doctor Mike
Mikhail Varshavski, D.O., commonly known as Mike Varshavski or Doctor Mike, is a Russian-born American internet celebrity family medicine doctor. His Instagram account went “viral” after he was featured in Buzzfeed and in People magazine’s 2015 issue of The Sexiest Doctor Alive.
Most of his content on YouTube includes reactions to hospital scenes from shows or movies, educational collaborations with other doctors and people, debunking medical myths and giving medical and technical information about them, and meme reviews where even non-medical professionals and practitioners can have a laugh with.
17. Jeff Su
Looking for Practical career and productivity tips for working professionals & college students? Look no further than checking out Jeff Su’s YouTube channel.
18. Linda Raynier
Actionable advice from a career strategist to unlock yourself & your potential.
19. Thomas Frank
This channel shares weekly videos to help optimize your time, avoid procrastination, & learn faster.
20. Robin Sharma
Robin Sharma is a celebrated leadership expert & business advisor who shares the tricks of the trade.
21. Ali Abdaal
Ali Abdaal helps you lead a happier, healthier, and more productive life using his YouTube channel.
22. Tai Lopez
Tai Lopez is a business expert who talks about his life, work, and what you can do to live a better life.
23. Silicon Valley
This self-owned channel gives insight about a Girl Building company, a personal brand, and she shares her story as a ‘Girl’ in Silicon Valley.
24. Sunny Lenarduzzi
The Sunny Lenarduzzi channel is provides everything branding, business, and being your own boss, especially in the creator economy.
25. Marie Forleo
This YouTube channel, Maire Forleo, is aimed at helping you create a business and life you will love.
26. Matt D’Avella
Subscribe to this YouTube channel, Matt D’avella, for advice on entrepreneurship, habit-creation, and minimalistic life.
27. Neil Patel
Neil Patel (born on April 14, 1985, in London) is a British entrepreneur, a New York Times bestseller, marketing expert, speaker, and Internet personality. Neil is best known for his work in digital marketing and social media and as the creator of Ubersuggest (a popular SEO tool).
The Wall Street Journal calls him a top influencer on the web, Forbes says he is one of the top 10 marketers, and Entrepreneur Magazine says he created one of the 100 most brilliant companies.
He is the founder of Crazy Egg and Hello Bar, whilst previously forming and selling several other successful companies including Quicksprout. Neil’s estimated net worth is between 7-10 million USD and he has over a decade of success working in digital marketing.
On his YouTube channel, he covers everything from Content Marketing to Facebook Ads and Growth Hacking.
28. Tech Rules
We sometimes know how digital things come to be, but do we really know the whole picture of them?
Tech Rules features mostly intricate mechanisms of how digital things and how their programming works, which of most are made for entertainment purposes like video games. By looking into their inner workings you never really cared about in the first place, Tech Rules makes sure that every particle of the digitized product is reviewed, analyzed, and disassembled to give you a fun and educational experience in the wonderful and complex world of hardware and software.
29. ATHLEAN-X
For free workouts, diet tips, and advice to help you turn into an athlete, subscribe to Trainer 2 The Pro YouTube channel.
30. Jeff Nippard
You can be a family of the YouTube community with the name, JeffNippard, for Science-based bodybuilding advice from an internationally qualified powerlifter.
31. Krissy Cela
Meal plans & killer workout guides focused on women.
32. Lavendaire
Driving personal growth & the lifestyle design you need to create your dream life.
33. IGN
A channel all about gaming and more!
IGN focuses on games, films, television, comics, technology, and other media. Originally a network of desktop websites, IGN is now also distributed on mobile platforms, console programs on the Xbox and PlayStation, FireTV, Roku, and via YouTube, Twitch, Hulu, and Snapchat.
The channel offers a variety of game walkthroughs, reviews, news, and everything in between. There are also official trailers of games and movies.
34. Alpha Beta Gamer
Alpha Beta Gamer is a YouTube channel of new, weird, indie, creepy, funny, retro, platforming, and inventive games that are created by publishers found on their website. You can also sign up to their website to download and test their game (Alpha and Beta testing).
The website is updated daily with beta tests, greenlight games, and indie games and bundles. The channel also features one up-and-coming game of the week.
35. HiHo Kids
“Every kid—including the one inside each of us—needs imagination and curiosity about the world. Hiho promotes empathy through play.”
This channel provides many varieties of videos starring kids trying the food, meeting people, and more. Kids also react to food from different countries, stories about the people they meet, new animals they encounter, and it shows the kids’ personal stories behind the camera.
36. Goodful
Wanting to be a vegetarian or vegan, but don’t know where to start?
How about reducing your daily waste because it, somehow, make you feel bad?
What about looking for new DIY (do it yourself) things at home to get rid of that pesky trash and turn them into something unique, elegant, usable, and eco-friendly?
If you’re looking for something to make yourself better, feel better, do better, and just plain be better, then BuzzFeed’s Goodful is the place.
This channel offers videos about healthy self-care needs and everything in between. The channel also offers health and fitness awareness tips, and some food challenges to see how cutting something off of your daily routine could result in a far more “good” future.
37. Great Big Story
“We’re global storytellers who believe this world is filled with magic. Our mission is to help you discover it, one video at a time.”
Great Big Story creates short, quick, and informative documentary-style videos that would really pique your interest: from politics to social studies, from culture to popular media, their videos cover a diverse and wide array of “did-you-knows.” The five main categories are Human Condition, Frontiers, Planet Earth, Flavors, and Origins.
- Human Condition is primarily about, well, humans, from the simplest to the most complex idea out there.
- Frontiers is about artists who share their art and their lives with the world and introduces the view to new adventurous spots that most have never heard of.
- Planet Earth contains videos about architecture and places in the world that people have not seen or traveled to before.
- Flavors tell stories about foods and how the most common snacks came to be.
- Origins are composed of videos of the origin stories about items used today as well as videos describing very original foods and the people who make them.
38. Kurzgesagt
Are you tired of learning or wanting to learn something filled with technical mumbo-jumbo and hard-to-understand words? This channel is for you.
Kurzgesagt is a German animation studio founded by Philipp Dettmer. The studio’s YouTube channel focuses on minimalist animated educational content, using the flat design style. Their videos are backed by multiple research, face-to-face discussions with experts, books, and hard facts checked from time to time to bring out the information needed and omit the ones that serve as infodumps. Apart from the highly interesting educational information jampacked into minutes, the videos also feature the feeling of existential dread while watching cute birds. They create videos using Adobe After Effects and use Adobe Illustrator for the animation.
The name derives from the German “kurz gesagt” which directly translates to “said in short”. It has also been translated as “in brief” or “in a nutshell”, the latter being used as an English subtitle for the channel’s name.
39. Llama Arts
Llama Arts is an English YouTube channel that uploads animations of the horror stories read by another YouTuber known as Mr. Nightmare. She animates these stories to give viewers a better visualization of the stories Mr. Nightmare reads.
Not much is known about Llama Arts’ persona, as she has not shown her face yet nor told anything about herself. However, it is obvious that she has an interest in drawing and animating.
Llama Arts formerly made videos of her speed drawing and speed painting pictures of famous cartoon characters but has since discontinued doing so once she started animating horror stories possibly because her animation videos appear to gain a lot more views than her drawing/painting videos.
40. Omeleto
“Omeleto is the home of award-winning short films. We showcase Sundance winners, Oscar nominations, and critically-acclaimed filmmakers from every genre.”
More short films and series? Heck, why not?
Omeleto offers an award-winning variety of multiple films and animations produced by artists and profound directors. You can now watch short movies of any genre online just like watching them in festivals and theaters.
In Omeleto you can even submit your own short film.
41. Screened
Have writer’s block lately on your latest story? Or looking for a nudge of materials for your next written and filmed materials?
That’s a lot of short movies above, but what about the lengthy ones? Well, Screened got it covered.
In one condition…
Except for watching one-hour or two-hour movies while sitting on a couch, you get a minimum of five and a maximum of 25 minutes of movie interpretation, examination, and analysis on a specific movie, the world it represents, and everything in between.
And the best part after watching a video? You’ll see yourself nodding in approval and mesmerized by the depth of the movie and the depth of the analysis made, especially if you’ve already seen it.
This channel offers videos of narration in an essay-type appreciation and explanation of movies you have already seen or haven’t seen yet. This channel influences you to watch the movie for the first time or watch it again, all while contemplating the deeper meaning behind every dialogue, setting, character, and genre that exists within the movie.
42. The Dodo
Cats and kittens are often the most viral content on the internet, as well as dogs and puppies. Basically, every cute animal on the planet.
The Dodo, however, offers a wide variety of animals, no matter how big or small, to be featured on videos. These videos are sometimes anecdotes about saving to fostering to releasing animals.
The Dodo is an American mobile-first media brand focused on telling animals’ stories and animal rights issues. The contents would oftentimes have rescued animals, cute stories of animals, on-cam videos circulating on the web, and the general well-being and protection of animals.
43. thejuicemedia
Ah, nothing but the putrid smell of burned corrupt politicians and corporate megalomaniacs. The channel offers you exclusive access to a surplus of “Honest Government Advertisements” filled with “genuine” contemporary political and social satire, sarcastic infomercials, and a sh*t ton of WTF content.
These satirical videos would make you smile, would make you laugh, and would also make you cry because of the depressing truths they ring. The channel also makes rap battles, which is cool, and has podcasts with experts talking about the social and political issues they’ve made into the content.
44. TwoSetViolin
“We love the violin. We love classical music. We love to practice.”
You may know Ling Ling, the (fictional) person who practices his violin 40 hours a day? Or the viral reaction video of two musicians reacting to a BBC News story titled “Fastest Violinist in the World,” which was horribly not?
TwoSet Violin is an Australian YouTube duo formed in 2013, made up of Australian violinists Brett Yang and Eddy Chen. They are best known for their antics on the YouTube channel of the same name, which has reached over 2 million subscribers and 390 million views as of 10 January 2020.
They create violin reviews, funny videos that even a non-musician can understand, as well as learning instruments besides the violin.
45. Vanity Fair
Vanity Fair is a monthly magazine of popular culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast in the United States.
Vanity Fair is also a YouTube channel where you can watch celebrity interviews, celebrity reviews, movie and series “note on the scene” analysis by the characters playing in them, spotlights, lie detector test games for celebrities, interviews of influential people, the differences of accents or slangs conveyed by celebrities, movie references, person impersonations and impressions, sound and music in movies, and much more.
46. Vox
According to Vox’s founding editors, the site seeks to explain news by providing additional contextual information not usually found in traditional news sources. The themes covered in the videos are usually similar to the themes covered in the regular, written articles on the website.
Vox takes a liberal-leaning editorial stance, mostly featuring political and social documentaries, research, articles, and videos. The New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, writing in 2016, described Vox as “mostly liberal.” Liberalism is defined as being open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values; (of education) concerned mainly with broadening a person’s general knowledge and experience, rather than with technical or professional training.
47. WatchMojo.com
“Top # Something Something”
Listers are found everywhere, from printed materials to your own device. WatchMojo.com, also a website, is best in doing it every day.
They produce daily “Top #” videos and videos summarizing the history of specific niche topics. These topics can be one of 16 categories: Anime, automotive, business, comedy, education, fashion, film, health and fitness, lifestyle, music, parenting, politics and economy, space and science, sports, technology, travel, and video games.
48. Wired
Wired is a monthly American magazine, published in print and online editions, that focuses on how emerging technologies affect culture, the economy, and politics.
Basically, Wired features videos of anything under the sun. But, they are encyclopedia-like when watched on YouTube. Some of these include tech and IT support, accent tutorials and explanations, general news, science and innovation, a featured “5 levels” of professions and practices, people answering what other people have searched in the net, and many more.
49. Special Books by Special Kids
Special Books by Special Kids was originally set up by disability rights advocate Chris Ulmer. No publishers were interested in a book where he would interview his students from his work as a special education teacher, so he started the channel to let them tell their stories that way.
In four years, Chris and his wife Alyssa Porter have interviewed hundreds of adults and children to show their different lives — from common conditions like autism to incredibly rare ones like Stromme Syndrome — helping inform the public that they are worthy of love, friendship, and full lives like everyone else.
YouTube sadly removed comments on SBSK’s videos in March, despite it being an overwhelmingly positive space for people both with disabilities and those wanting to learn more. Chris and Alyssa explained how damaging the situation are for their community in a video.
Each story is inspiring and touching in its own unique way, and Chris has a special gift of connecting to every single person he meets. SBSK is a heartwarming and worthy follow for your YouTube page.
50. Wode Maya
Berthold Kobby Winkler Ackon, popularly known as Wode Maya is a Young Freelance Ghanaian YouTube personality, vlogger, digital media influencer, and aeronautical engineer. ‘Wode Maya’ means ‘My Mother’ in Chinese.
Wodemaya through his over 1 million subscriber channel is on a mission to change the African negative narrative by promoting all the 55 African countries in a positive way to the world in a project he calls “AFRICA TO THE WORLD”.
