All 4 Late Night hosts, ranked from worst to best

Late Night is not quite as prestigious as The Tonight Show, but it's close. The late night program has been on since 1982, and helped to bolster some of the most signifiant and iconic talent in the history of the medium.

It has always been positioned as the hip younger brother of The Tonight Show, as evidenced by the fact that two of its hosts have gone on to host the latter. But we've already done a Tonight Show list. We're here to examine the history of Late Night, and determine which comedian made the biggest impact.

4. Jimmy Fallon (2009-14)

Jimmy Fallon really suffers in comparison to the competition. He placed at the bottom of the Tonight Show ranking, as well, and a lot of it comes down to his limited strengths as a host. He's really good at coming up with viral games and segments, but Fallon's interviews are difficult to get through, and he doesn't have a strong enough personality to carry off the monologues.

There's also a distinct lack of edge that comes into play with Fallon. Late Night has always had a bit more bite that The Tonight Show, and Fallon was cut from the safe, Jay Leno school of hosting. It has worked for him, obviously, but it doesn't benefit him on this list.

3. Seth Meyers (2014-)

We're not going to pretend that Seth Meyers is an iconoclast. He has some of the same, edge-less issues that his precedessor and former SNL peer, Fallon did. He does, however, have a much better approach when it comes to interviews. Meyers can chat with anybody (well, almost anybody) and it proves entertaining.

There's also a distinct vibe to Meyers' version of Late Night. It's the most relaxed of the current shows and it feels, in the best possible way, like a circus run by a guy who used to write sketches for SNL. He isn't a hall of famer, but he isn't half bad.

2. David Letterman (1982-93)

It was not easy ranking these top two slots. David Letterman is on the Mount Rushmore of talk show hosts, thanks to his irreverent sense of humor and his willingness to take viewers on bizarre tangents. Letterman also gets bonus points for being the guy that the Late Night franchise was effectively built around in 1982.

We've got absolutely no knocks for Letterman as a host, but a huge part of his legacy can also be attributed to tenure on Late Show with David Letterman. He actually spent more time on that show, which ran from 1993 to 2015. This was the kind of hair that needed to be split in order to determine who number one should be.

1. Conan O'Brien (1993-2009)

Conan O'Brien had never hosted a show, and was known primarily as a Simpsons writer when he was brought in to replace David Letterman. It was a no win situation, and somehow, he won. Conan built up one of the most delightful and absurdist late night shows of all time, and he held down the Late Night position for a whopping 2,725 episodes.

Conan not only lived up to Letterman, but he managed to get out from Letterman's shadow and turn Late Night into a brand that generations would associate with him. It's a testament to his craft and his singular appeal that he was able to do so.