Letterman followed closely by Conan.

But, you can't beat Triumph the Insult Comic Dog!!!

I know!! I vote for Jon Stewart too.... Nancy Walls deadpanning is possibly the funniest I've seen on TV.

p.s.: And it comes on right before Letterman too....

Letterman hasn't been the same since he moved to CBS. I can't put my finger on it. Maybe I just get annoyed when Paul's band starts jamming, and once they're done, it takes the crowd 5-10 seconds to realize it and stop clapping. I guess I can file that one under my pet peaves, right next to all the losers who sit outside of the Today Show and scream like idiots.

Or maybe I just have issues.

I gotta go with Letterman. Leno never really measured up and though Conan is coming up, he's not quite to the top yet.

Definitely Conan. All the rest of them are there... FOR ME TO POOP ON! :D

I'm so glad Dave is catching up with Conan in the poll. I have nothing against Conan, but better than David Letterman? To me, that's like saying Edward Norton is a better actor than Robert DeNiro. We know Edward is a definite talent of today's actors, but he has yet to prove he will be one of the best for a lengthy amount of time. Dave's still bringing it night after night, after a quadruple bypass. You gotta respect that...

For me, seniority has nothing to do with it. I voted for the one that makes me laugh the most, and that is <b>Conan</b>! I have never sat through an episode of Late Night without laughing uncontrollably at least once. His constantly funny sense of humor, and perfectly timed, witty comments are what makes him stand out from the rest.

I'm surprised by this. Leno is my favorite as he still gives a good show, has good guests, and has true comedy. Conan would be second although a lot of people don't like him. But what makes him great is his total lack of humility in embaressing himself.

Letterman sucks. I am sorry, I went to one of his shows and it was all a scam. We were told hundeds of times that if we didn't laugh and act like a good audience, that Dave wouldn't have a good time and neither would we. If it wasn't for seinfeld showing up, I would've been mad. But overall, Dave is just not funny unless you are a New Yorker I guess.

I'm happy to report that the Emmy awards have it somewhat right: David Letterman with 5 nominations, Jay with 3, and Conan with 1. Johnny Carson made a horrible mistake!

CONAN! :)

i stay up just to watch his show.. tis be the best!

This topic is repeatedly beaten to death, and I won't give my usual discourse here on my Dave is heads and tails above the rest... but your other analogy interests me, because I am of the firm belief that Edward Norton is the greatest actor to ever live... I'd have Deniro and Pacino at 2 and 3, but to me, Norton has proven himself with Primal Fear, American History X, Fight Club, People vs. Larry Flynt, Rounders, etc... that he is worthy of being called the greatest.

Now certainly Deniro has Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, Heat, Mean Streets, Godfather Part II, and more, and for this, he deserves his spot as #2 on my list, but he's done so many average and/or bad movies, especially in recent years, that cloud his resume, that I take no shame in putting Norton in the top spot.

But back on topic, it's Dave all the way, no if ands or buts about it... my scale:

Dave - 10/10
Kilbourne - 6/10
Conan - 5/10
Lamo - 1/10 (headlines is the only half-way funny bit on the damn show)

As a note, I used to like Conan a lot better, back when Andy was on, but in the past year or so, he's gone way downhill for me, and Craig's improved.

If your up late enough, I think its Kilborn all the way (providing you meet the targeted age group of 18-35) or else I think you will hate Kilborn.

My list, and times in my area.

1. Letterman (11:30-12:30)
2. Kilborn (12:30-1:30)
3. Jon Stewart of The Daily Show (11:00-11:30)

I catch them all every night. :)

Letterman by a mile. I don't even kow how you compare the late shows with the late-late shows, though. When Letterman changed the whole genre back in the early 80's he was on at 12:30 and, like Conan and Kilborn, you can do more and get away with more because your audience is younger or unemployed, and possibly even in prison.

I like that Letterman is not hiding the fact that he's getting older and that, although he's still the best, he is letting the show mature with him.

If you gave this poll secretly to all the other hosts, they would all pick Letterman too. Carson even thought Letterman was the best. Only Bill Maher would say he is better, because he loves himself even more than "Craiggers" does.

I don't watch late-late night much anymore, but overall Conan is the best of the 2 hosts on at that time. I tolerate Kilborn, but at that time period if I'm up I watch for a guest anyway. I don't like Kilborn's show, but he loves the women and that's good for me. But, as a show, Conan is far superior in overall humor.

John Stewart was excellent on Larry Sanders and should be doing Kilborn's show. Considering the fact Letterman and his people put out the hit shows ED and Everybody loves Raymond, I can't see how they chose Kilborn over Stewart. That said, The Daily Show is not like the other 4 talk shows. It's mostly Stewart doing comedy, a funny sketch, and a guest for like 2 minutes. Sometimes I feel bad for the celebrities who show up and are done after 2 questions. I think Stewart could have pushed Conan but since the shows are so different I think you have to give it to Conan as 2nd best to Dave.

Bill Maher also does a completely different show. It's political and it's serious and it doesn't really have guests as much as it presents guests to talk and laugh about current issues. 3 out of the 4 "guests" are usually people I barely even know. It's a very good show, but it's not like Edward Norton, Dido, Madonna, and Charlize Theron are going to all show up and git into a pissing match. So, it's not a talk show and not like Leno, Letterman, Kilborn, Conan or even Stewart.

I can't tolerate Jay Leno. I think he's plain awful. You could bring back Arsenio and he would be better. Although, he is in LA, he does kiss the stars' butts and he gets the better guests because of that.

So best on Late Night? Easily Letterman. Take your pick between Stewart and Maher, but I like Stewart more just because there is plenty of laughs without the yelling. Conan is next and then Kilborn and Leno way behind.

Just in the traditional Talks shows: Letterman, Conan, Kilborn, Leno. And you have to be awful to end up last to "Craiggers." I know he's TRYING to be self-depricating, but he's so damned annoying it's not even funny.

After watching Conan tonight, I am going to change my answer to CONAN! That was too damn funny!

Da Thrilla= Da Traitor. ;)

Other - the SCinemax nude-sex fest on every night during those same hours. Usually lasts until 3am or so - not that I have watched any of them.

Letterman's jokes are really, really stupid. And I find his sidekick to be so, incredibly bad, that I have blocked out his name from my memory :p

Conan and Leno, on the other hand... now that's better comedy :)

Currently serving 2-4 years for sex crimes at a California Penitentiary.

of what i've seen Conan is definitely the best of a weak bunch.

Whatever is on Skinamax (and its multi-channels).

I like how Conan makes fun of his timeslot and says that its 3 in the morning and nobodies watching. Or that there are like 5 people watching and they wont care.