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A selection of 173 YouTube creators worth watching. You're either actively training the algorithm, or it's training you.


TL;DR
  1. Jump to the list of recommended YouTube Channels.
  2. Get a better mobile browser: Ghostery
  3. Get a 3rd-party YouTube app (Android): NewPipe
  4. Install browser Extension SponsorBlock
  5. Install browser Extension uBlock Origin
  6. Install browser Extension Adblock for Youtube
  7. If you have a Google TV, Nvidia Shield, Android TV Box, Amazon FireTV, or ChromeCast, try installing the SmartTube application.

YouTube

YouTube has emerged as an amazing repository of engaging, well-produced content for personal and professional development. Though, like any other digital medium, it can also be a source of distraction unless you tweak your viewing habits to train the YouTube algorithm to feed you nutrient-rich and nourishing content.


Tips
  1. If you can afford to (and wish to) subscribe to YouTube, consider doing so, as it helps support creators and makes advertisements disappear. The Family Plan can be shared and makes the cost quite reasonable.
  2. If you're not in a position to (or don't wish to) subscribe, look into using Mobile and Desktop browsers that help you see fewer ads, like Ghostery or Brave.
  3. Use mobile apps like NewPipe that let you cache videos for offline viewing on Android.
  4. When using browsers like Chrome, use SponsorBlock.
  5. uBlock Origin is another extension to help keep your browsing experience distraction free.
  6. If you have a Google TV, Nvidia Shield, Android TV Box, Amazon FireTV, or ChromeCast, install SmartTube.

Note: 2023 marked the beginning of the next wave of battles between viewers, platforms, and advertisers, so these tips may be out-of-date by the time you're reading them.


Beware
  1. Beware of brain-melting content with click-bait thumbnails of people with mouth agape and titles including "Amazing", "Unexpected", or "The 10 best XYZ, and number 10 will surprise you!". Tell YouTube to not recommend those channels by clicking the context menu of an offending video and choosing "Do not Recommend Channel".
  2. Beware of content with stolen and regurgitated visuals from manufacturer's promotional videos coupled with AI-generated or Fiverrr-generated voice-overs; these typically also have click-bait-y titles and thumbnails and are usually in the category of "10 amazing XYZ that will blow your mind". They are usually full of exaggerated and incorrect statements.
  3. Avoid Simon Whistler; he has about 500 channels, and even though each is promoted as educational or informative, they all contain mid-quality, repetitive content produced in hopes of keeping you watching and engaged long enough for him to get paid by YouTube. (Sorry Simon, nothing personal)
  4. If a video is also available in podcast form, consider watching it in the background, or engaging with it through your favorite podcast listening platform instead. Give your already over-loaded visual cortex a break.
  5. Beware of YouTube Shorts. This is just TikTok. This is not for you. It only serves to futher shrink your already-shrinking attention span.

"Hey, why isn't my favorite YouTuber on your list?!?!?"

Good question. You might not like the answer.

The list below is a compilation of channels that might not otherwise be on "Top 10" lists, with the goal of broadening perspectives. Specifically, in the Tech YouTube world, the "Top 10" creators are, more often than not, victims of their own success. They often grow progressively out of touch with the professional world they came from or the niche that made them famous, increasingly shifting to producing high-energy, stunt videos for views and focusing on camera technology or how well a new computer performs on 4K video exports.

If you're looking to learn from watching YouTube videos, spend less time with YouTubers who mainly focus on celebrating their own fame or riffing on their (staged) minimal desk setups used only for video editing and gaming. This means actively steering away from some of the most recognized names in the business: MKBHD, LinusTechTips, Mr Whose the Boss, Dave 2D, Unbox Therapy, Austin Evans, Mark Rober, Colin Furze, Smarter Every Day, etc.

They've evolved into content creators and commentators but often try very hard to present themselves as connected to the professional tech world. Their jobs are video production, script writing, self-promotion, and thumbnail idea generation. They don't write code, do engineering, or solve serious problems (anymore). They live worlds away from professional engineering and computer science. They're often doing advanced DIY tinkering, arts & crafts, professional shopping, and interior design.

If you find the content of your favorite unlisted creator worthwhile, that's great. However, their channels are, almost always, designed for edutainment (with a focus on entertainment). There are dozens of other channels with content that is less candy-coated.

As an exercise, take a break from your normal content and venture further down the YouTube rabbit hole. There is a vast, unexplored side of YouTube that can expand your brain. Pause and reflect on what the "Top 10" creators really give you; skip their content for a while to find channels new to you. This is particularly important for younger invididuals who have likely interacted with YouTube as an entertainment black-hole rather than as a learning platform. It is both, but YouTube's algorithm tries to force you down the enteratinment blind alley; the only way to counteract the algorithm is to actively choose more informative content.


YouTube Channel Recommendations

1. Two Minute Papers

2. Internet Today

3. How It's Made

4. The Efficient Engineer

5. The FACTs of Mechanical Design

6. Practical Engineering

7. engineerguy

8. Lesics

9. Robert Feranec

10. Let's Overthink This

11. The B1M

12. Real Civil Engineer

13. Paul Gould

14. ただくま研究室 Yamagata Univ.

15. Futurepedia

16. Machine Learning & Simulation

17. Matt Wolfe

18. Thu Vu data analytics

19. NeetCode

20. OpenAI

21. Everyday Astronaut

22. Mark Gray

23. AstroBackyard

24. BPS.space

25. NASA

26. NASASpaceflight

27. Scott Manley

28. SpaceX

29. Rocket Lab

30. The Linux Experiment

31. Black Hat

32. DEFCONConference

33. Mental Outlaw

34. Jack Rhysider

35. media.ccc.de

36. Seytonic

37. t3ssel8r

38. Terry Films

39. All process of world

40. Process X

41. Weber Inc.

42. Wondastic Tech

43. Long Now Foundation

44. RSA

45. Santa Fe Institute

46. Talks at Google

47. TED

48. TEDx Talks

49. Vsauce

50. Verge Science

51. minutephysics

52. Looking Glass Universe

53. NileRed

54. Domain of Science

55. Periodic Videos

56. Be Smart

57. Science Channel

58. SciShow

59. Veritasium

60. MindYourDecisions

61. Zach Star

62. 3Blue1Brown

63. Pioneer

64. MIT OpenCourseWare

65. Garry Tan

66. Harvard Innovation Labs

67. Slidebean

68. Y Combinator

69. BosnianBill

70. DeviantOllam

71. LockPickingLawyer

72. Clickspring

73. INDUSTRIAL JP

74. Machine Thinking

75. NYC CNC

76. tarkka

77. This Old Tony

78. Computer History Museum

79. Cool Tools

80. MIT Media Lab

81. Green Timelapse

82. Temponaut Timelapse

83. The Slow Mo Guys

84. Hydraulic Press Channel

85. JerryRigEverything

86. TechAltar

87. MIT Technology Review

88. The Verge

89. WIRED

90. WIRED UK

91. Lego Cooking

92. tomosteen

93. Akiyuki Brick Channel

94. Brick Bending

95. Brick Experiment Channel

96. SpitBrix

97. Vox

98. Big Think

99. VICE

100. Boxlapse

101. agadmator's Chess Channel

102. thechesswebsite

103. GothamChess

104. Komatsu Construction

105. Machinery Channel

106. PonssePlc

107. Torque Test Channel

108. Jelle's Marble Runs

109. OE Fitness

110. HOWNOT2

111. Mediocre Amateur

112. SB Pressure Washing

113. SB Mowing

114. Abandoned Miniatures

115. Miniature Drums

116. Studson Studio

117. Pursuit of Wonder

118. The School of Life

119. Word Porn

120. Chief MAKOi

121. JeffHK

122. TED-Ed

123. JCS - Criminal Psychology

124. That Chapter

125. Wisecrack

126. The Modern Rogue

127. DownieLive

128. Rose Anvil

129. Kai W

130. Shawn Woods

131. Project Farm

132. Maker's Muse

133. Michael Reeves

134. Programmers are also human

135. Captain Disillusion

136. Technology Connections

137. Jeff Geerling

138. Quantum Tech HD

139. ColdFusion

140. TechLinked

141. Techquickie

142. New Mind

143. おもしろ雑貨コレクター

144. Rescue & Restore

145. TysyTube Restoration

146. TheMalibuArtist

147. MxR Plays

148. Recollection Road

149. Weird History

150. GeoWizard

151. That Is Interesting

152. Joshua Weissman

153. Soon Films

154. 야미보이 Yummyboy

155. How To Cook That

156. Epicurious

157. The Food Theorists

158. Miniature Dream Cooking

159. Squirrel Monkey

160. Mentour Now!

161. Mentour Pilot

162. Tesla

163. MIT Architecture

164. Harvard Business Review

165. How Money Works

166. The Plain Bagel

167. omozoc

168. Thomas Flight

169. Every Frame a Painting

170. Like Stories of Old

171. Paul E.T.

172. The Cinema Cartography