Top 30 Episodes of "How I Met Your Mother"

Alright, I think enough time has passed since the finale, so let's get going on this legendary list.

These, are my Top 30 Episodes of How I Met Your Mother. 

30. Gary Blauman (Season 9, Episode 21)
Though it really, by all accounts, one last filler before we go into the final three episodes of the series, this episode's ending is what I like to call "The Toy Story 3 version of How I Met Your Mother". The theme, about putting sincere effort into keeping in touch with the people you care about, is one of my favorite lessons the show has taught us (I reference it in my personal piece, "What I Learned From How I Met Your Mother"). In addition to Barney's accidental curly fry rant, and Ted & Tracy's first date, this episode is memorable enough to earn a spot on the list.

29. How I Met Everyone Else (Season 3, Episode 5)
Everyone loves a good origin story, and we got a couple of hilarious ones in this episode, including Ted and Marshall pranking Barney on their first meetings, and Marshall originally thinking Ted as the dean. Plus, who could forget that maniac "Blah Blah", or the fact this episode gave us the term "eating a sandwich"?

28. Best Burger In New York (Season 4, Episode 2)
Regis Philbin in How I Met Your Mother acting insane. Need I say more? Plus Marshall's relentless quest to find a perfect burger from long ago, and Robin's desperate search for just one bite of food make "Best Burger In New York" a highlight of Season 4.

27. Subway Wars (Season 6, Episode 4)
Both hilarious and epic, "Subway Wars" is classic How I Met Your Mother. Barney's over-the-top methods of getting to the restaurant first, Maury Povich, a tiny imaginary Marshall on a pregnancy test ("Somebody help me!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!!"), all strung together with the classic ballad "Marshall Vs The Machines".

26. Rabbit or Duck (Season 5,  Episode 15)
While this episode features the hilarious "Rabbit Vs Duck" debate, and Barney's madness over his "hook-up phone", the rest of the episode, story and joke wise don't quite measure up. But those two things make up for that in a decent episode.

25. Trilogy Time (Season 7, Episode 20)
Ted and Marshall made a vow in college to watch the original Star Wars trilogy every three years, and this episode shows us when that tri-annual event took place throughout the series until this episode. It's a really fun and creative episode, revisiting some of the show's most pivotal moments. What's also fun is seeing "what could have been" in "fake flash forwards", and watching the cast do some ridiculous things. It's a very creative episode, that is also a testament to the never ending battle of expectations vs reality, which ends on a very sweet moment for Ted in the future.

24. Three Days of Snow (Season 4, Episode 13)
This episode shows just how interchangeable this cast is, and how they all can bounce off one another so well, no matter who they're sharing a scene is. Featuring great moments like Ted and Barney running the bar, Party School Bingo, and the final scene at the airport with Marshall and Lily, "Three Days of Snow" is another great episode of How I Met Your Mother.

23. The Window (Season 5, Episode 10)
Make Adjustments…Go Get Energized! Ted's failed attempt to finally land The Girl Next Door is sprinkled with the most ridiculous scenarios. Robin's failed attempts to seduce his competition, trying to stop Barney from…being Barney, and Marshall's inner battle with his nine-year-old self. While it is another episode where Ted goes after someone that isn't The Mother, it gives every character a chance to shine in their own special way.

22. Bass Player Wanted (Season 9, Episode 13)
Putting a guest star in the middle of a great cast is always risky, but Andrew Rannels as Darren does pretty great. Josh Radnor and Neil Patrick Harris's scenes together are amazing, as always. But the real gem of the episode is Cristin Milioti, as she is given a lot of great material to work with.  This is one of the best episodes of the ninth and final season.

21. The Best Man (Season 7, Episode 1)
In the first episode of the seventh season, which was very much the beginning of the march (a very long march) towards the series's end game, we are treated to an amazing dance scene with Barney and Robin. Plus, Marshall getting drunk and obsessing over babies, and "Classic Schmosby". Side note, go watch Robin and Ted's conversation about timing again. Now watch the finale again…..yeah. I know.

20. The Perfect Cocktail (Season 6, Episode 22)
I think we can all agree that, watching our friends make asses of themselves drunk is great comedy, and that's exactly what this episode gives us. From Ted's beatboxing, to…pretty much everything Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel do, the laughs just keep coming in this episode.

19. How The Lily Stole Christmas (Season 2, Episode 11)
I'm a sucker for a good Christmas episode, and How I Met Your Mother's first one is nothing short of great. The use of "Grinch" as a censor for an unknown swear word. Robin taking care of a sick, whining Barney (and a fiery batch of cookies). Ted's very religious cousins and their Christmas dinner. This is a classic Christmas episode, and a classic How I Met Your Mother episode.

18. The Magician's Code Part 1 &2 (Season 7, Episodes 23 & 24)
Marshall and Lily's quest to become parents, that started all the way back in season 4, finally comes to a close, with the beautiful birth of Marvin Wait-for-It Eriksen. The birth for the adorable little guy comes amidst some truly ridiculous moments, such as "Yoda-Drunk" Marshall, Barney's determination to uphold The Magician's Code, and Robin's coming to terms with the birthing process ("You! Get that thing out of my office! Weak women disgust me!"- Dr. Sonya).

17. Jenkins (Season 5, Episode 13)
Neil Patrick Harris took the director's chair for this episode, and it pays off. Jason Segel and Alyson Hannigan continue to play off each other amazingly, but if I had to describe the episode in two words, it'd be "But umm…"

16. The End of The Aisle (Season 9, Episode 22)
The cast gives some of their best work in this episode. While the laughs aren't heavy (Save for Marshall's never- ending "vow" puns, the final slap and one last "Nobody Asked You Patrice"), it's a beautiful thing when we finally reach Barney and Robin's wedding. Set to Pearl Jam's "Future Days", it's hard to hold the tears back, as the moment that was teased years before finally arrives, and it was legendary….and then...

15. Last Forever Part 1 &2 (Season 9, Episode 23 & 24)
WAIT. WAIT FOR IIIT!!!!!!

I know some of you are still angry, and are probably ready to throw tomatoes at me for even putting it on the list. But I've watched the finale a few more times since I wrote my initial response to it…and dammit, I enjoy it now. How can anyone not love the fact that we finally see Ted meeting Tracy (The Mother), after multiple glimpses at their beautiful life together all season long, and in this episode. A bittersweet ending yes, but how can you now get choked up over Ted's last bit of monolgue? Plus there's so many wonderful moments in this episode, like Barney and his newborn daughter. "Last Forever" is a touching, emotional close to a show that has always balanced the lighter and darker sides of life, through laughs and tears.

14. Legendaddy/Hopeless (Season 6, Episode 19 & 21)
Both episodes have Neil Patrick Harris and John Lithgow at their very best. While one has them giving their best dramatically, the other has them giving their best comedically. On the dramatic side, Neil Patrick Harris gives it his all in "Legendaddy" as he reunites with his estranged father Jerry (Lithgow). Lithgow is one of the best guest stars the show's ever had, balancing both the light-hearted and the gritty sides of the show. The final scene between him and NPH still stands out strong in my memory. Plus there's Marshall's opossum Rex. He found him in a dumpster. He lives with us now. Comedically, "Hopeless" gives the two very actors plenty material to play off another, scene after scene, while still ending on a strong emotional note. Then there's the origin of the red cowboy boots. Oh Ted.

13. The Final Page Part 1 & 2 (Season 8, Episode 11 & 12)
Barney's month-long scheme to propose to Robin is nothing short of wonderful. Marvin's lullaby is adorable. Ted's scene with Robin in the limo is very touching. Neil Patrick Harris's performance when Barney is jinxed, Peter Gallagher and Seth Green's guest roles...There's an endless amount of things that make one of the show's most important episodes one of its best.

12. Symphony of Illumination (Season 7, Episode 12)
One of the saddest episodes in the show. After the episode that came before it, told us Robin might be pregnant, not only did this one say she wasn't, but that she couldn't have children at all. The episode had plenty of laughs, only to pull the rug out from under us and sucker punch us in the heart at the very end. The final scene is one of the series' best moments. But in the end, this episode gives us one of Cobie Smulders best performances.

11. Slapsgiving (Season 3, Episode 9)
Neil Patrick Harris does a great job playing a skittish, disoriented Barney as the third slap of the slap bet draws closer in this Thanksgiving/Slapsgiving episode. Jason Segel's closing song (with backup vocals from NPH) has gone down in history as one of the show's trademarks, and rightfully so. As Ted and Robin's post break-up tension come to a head, the episode shows just how messy, ridiculous, and hilarious Thanksgiving can be…and Bob.

10. Girls Vs Suits (Season 5, Episode 12)
The show's 100th episode gave us the musical number to end all musical numbers, and (at the time) the closest we've ever been to meeting The Mother, with Ted dating her roommate Cindy (Rachel Bilson). Exciting and fun to watch for the fans, the episode also had plenty to chuckle at as the gang, Barney in particular, deal with the arrival of MacLaren's new, suit-hating bartender (Stacy Keibler).

9. Last Words (Season 6, Episode 14)
While the final scene of "Bad News"will always be one of my favorite scenes, the episode on a whole, not so much. Nevertheless, in the story of Marshall's Dad's unexpected death, Jason Segel gives an incredible performance, and his best work in the show. His final monologue in the end is heartbreaking, and Marshall's quest to remember his last words with his father (While the gang tries to provide some humor throughout) makes this another heavy hitter in the series.

8. Arrivederci, Fiero (Season 2, Episode 17)
The gang recounts all the memories they made with Marshall's old Fiero in some hilarious flashbacks. Ted and Marshall's original, disastarous road trip, which gave us the game "Zitch Dog" and brought new life to the song "500 Miles" by The Proclaimers. Plus who could forget Barney's driving lesson? If you haven't already, really listen to what he and Ted are screaming during the "crash scene". Also, there was a suicidal cat and a hitchhiking Waldo.

7. Who Wants To Be A Godparent? (Season 8, Episode 4)
"Time will hear a broken heart…but not that bitch's window!"
It's always great when we can get all five members of the cast in one straight storyline for an episode. That's what we get when Marshall & Lily put the others in a game show-like competition over the right to be Marvin's godparent. The cutaway scenes with Ted, Barney, and Robin all dealing with different parenting situations with Marvin are great, and everyone is bouncing off each other so well in this episode the laughs don't stop.

6 . Monday Night Football (Season 2, Episode 14)
The gang must attend a funeral Super Bowl Sunday, and spend the following day doing everything they can to avoid learning who won, until they can watch it on Tivo that night. What they go through is absurd and hilarious (typical of the show). Robin avoiding reporting the news at her own anchor desk. Marshall being blackmailed by a kindergartner. Ted walking across the city practically deaf and blind. Only on How I Met Your Mother could a story like this exist.

5. How Your Mother Met Me (Season 9, Episode 16)
The clock rewinds back to the very beginning of the series, and we see what Tracy's been up to these past nine years. If you weren't already in love with Cristin Milioti as the titular mother, this episode made you love her. A character we only had patches of knowledge of, we see the emotional journey that brought her to the threshold of meeting the father of her children. This beautiful, nostalgic episode ends with Milioti singing a wonderful rendition of "La Vie En Rose", that becomes Ted's (and mine) favorite performance of the future Mrs. Mosby.

4. Showdown (Season 2, Episode 20)
Bob Barker is Barney's father? Well, at least that's what he thinks, and plans to tell the man when he lands a spot on The Price Is Right. Seeing the delusional Barney actually play on The Price Is Right, getting way too into it, and getting choked up over every little thing Bob Barker says is just so good. Then there's an interesting little end tag with Marshall (and Ted) making a goodnight video to Lily, which is both awkward and humorous.

3. No Pressure (Season 7, Episode 17)
Ted and Robin revisit their romance in another great episode from the fantastic Season 7, while Barney goes mad searching for Marshall & Lily's sextape. Both stories provide some laughs, but in the end it's a very bittersweet chapter in the Ted/Robin storyline, that paves the way for Ted to move forward and find "The One". The episode is very deep, pulling together a lot of what's been dealt with in the season so far, all boiling over to this moment. Giving the whole cast plenty of great material to work with, it's one of the show's best scripted episodes (And I'm not just saying that because the writer went to Quinnipiac University, my alma mater…)

2. The Rebound Girl (Season 7, Episode 11) 
Bro-Parenting. Could it work? Ted and Barney want to try and find out, after each of them have gone through a bit of a rough patch. It's always great when Josh Radnor and NPH get to play off one another, and this is one of their best episodes, as they go through another half-baked scheme. Seeing them try to plan their "family life" and doing their "We're having a baby!" hug-dance…so good. Plus you have Cobie Smulders in the B-storyline exercising her comedic abilities, and a cameo from Ghostbuster Ernie Hudson. This episode is nothing short of wonderful.

But it's only #2 on my list. The #1 spot belongs to-Wait for it…...


1. The Time Travelers (Season 8, Episode 20)
I like to look at How I Met Your Mother as 50% funny, and 50% drama, if this post hasn't made that clear yet. For every sad episode, there's a funny episode. For every laugh, there is a tear. The Time Travelers takes that notion and twists it, hiding a sad episode in the concept of a funny one. Again, it's Josh Radnor and NPH doing what they do best, while Jason Segel and Cobie Smulders prove that they're quite the comedic duo as well. The cast and crew fired on all cylinders in this episode. But the real tour de force here is our leading man, Josh Radnor. A defining performance in his nine-year role of Ted Mosby. It's amazing, now that the finale has aired, how much more powerful his speech is at the end.

It's both beautiful and sad, that Ted finds himself alone, with nothing but his stories, his memories, and in that moment, he (as the narrator) comes to terms with how important every second he has with the woman he loves is. Well not just the woman he loves, but his friends Barney, Robin, Marshall, and Lily. Every moment we have with someone we love is precious. That's a beautiful lesson, one which I'll always be glad How I Met Your Mother taught us, as I've stated before in past articles. There will be low moments, where we find ourselves alone and idle, but it's in these moments we can make a great self-discovery, as the narrating Ted admits to his children. Emotional, hilarious, and profound. "The Time Travelers" is my favorite episode of How I Met Your Mother.

Now I understand my favorite episodes aren't necessarily everyone else's, and I'm sure many of you will disagree with my choices, as much as you could agree with them. If you have a thought you'd like to share, there's a comment section below. Ask for me, I'm off to write reviews for Muppets Most Wanted and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. They're going to be legendary.