All time favourite is Richard Pryor, loved Eddie Murphy's early stuff too Eddie Murphy Raw is my favourite stand up performance was actually watching it earlier. Other comedians i like are Andy Kaufman, Tommy Tiernan, Early Steve Martin and Jim Carey, John C Reily, Bill Hicks.
Every time some tech rag talks about how our future is all about us talking with appliances, I laughingly have to think of Eddie Murphy in "Delirious" back in the 1980s when he imitates his car saying, "Hey man, someone stole your battery! I say we go get the mofo!" Talk about old shit ideas being rewarmed as leftovers...
Doug Stanhope, Bill Hicks, George Carlin, Dara O Briain, Dylan Moran, Stewart Lee, Simon Amstel, Reginal D Hunter, Jack Dee, Phil Jupitus, Richard Prior, Bill Bailey. Probably think of more later....Stand up is one of my biggest interests, have about 200 shows on my harddrive