Most of Reddit is a cesspool of low-effort content, karma-farming bots, and hiveminded users who spew memes and clichés like their lives depended on it. But not all of Reddit is terrible.
If you stick to the smaller niche subreddits—subscribing to the ones that interest you and never venturing into r/all or r/popular—then you’ll find that Reddit can be quite useful and entertaining.
Related: Hilarious subreddits that’ll brighten your day
The problems often start surfacing when a subreddit grows too big: unrelated content that appeals to the lowest common denominator starts getting thousands of upvotes, and pretty soon the entire subreddit is derailed by low-effort posts.
20.r/subredditoftheday
Related: The most interesting subreddits for killing time when you’re bored
19.r/askhistorians
r/askhistorians is one of the most rigorous subreddits when it comes to factual replies that are sourced with real sources, not just blogs and random internet musings.
18.r/suggestmeabook
If you burn through books and often find yourself scrambling for more books to add to your reading list, r/suggestmeabook is one of our favorite ways to find new books worth reading.
All you have to do is post a new thread and explain what kinds of books you’re looking for. Any additional information, details, and context will help people provide better recommendations.
And if you’ve read a ton of books and want to help others out with your own recommendations, this can be a fun place to participate!
17.r/podcasts
For avid podcast listeners, r/podcasts is a must-follow community as the largest gathering of podcast fans on Reddit.
Most of the threads come down to people asking for suggestions, people giving their recommendations, or thoughts and discussions about specific podcasts. It’s a great way to find new podcasts.
There’s also the much smaller r/podcast community. You might prefer this one if you prefer a tighter group of people who aren’t as hiveminded when it comes to recommendations and discussion.
Related: The most addictive educational podcasts
16.r/skincareaddiction
While r/skincareaddiction isn’t the perfect subreddit—it’s been the subject of a few controversies in the past—it’s still a solid resource for anyone who’s struggling with skin issues.
You’ll learn how to take care of your skin (especially your face) and help fight off acne outbreaks, dry and flaky skin, oily skin, unsightly blemishes, and more.
A lot of skincare products get namedropped here, and a lot of them are done as stealth marketing by shills. But as long as you keep your eyes peeled and do further research, it’s an informative place.
15.r/bodyweightfitness
Of all the fitness-related subreddits, I’ve enjoyed r/bodyweightfitness the most. They seem to have the most realistic sense of what’s possible in a given timeframe, and there’s little emphasis on equipment. It is, after all, fitness using your own body’s weight.
A lot of the value in this subreddit comes from the guides in the sidebar, but it can be helpful to browse the threads as well. Questions are asked and answered regularly, and you can throw in your own questions if you have trouble grasping bodyweight fitness.
14.r/netflixbestof
Feel like all the good stuff on Netflix has slipped away and now there’s nothing left to watch? r/netflixbestof is a great subreddit to check.
As you can tell from the name, it’s a place where people can talk about the best stuff on Netflix—movies, TV shows, anime series, documentaries, and whatever else.
People will recommend their own favorites and explain why they’re worth checking out, but you can also post your own request threads where people will suggest things to watch based on what you’re looking for. It’s a great way to get more value out of Netflix!
13.r/games
There’s no shortage of gaming-related subreddits, but r/games is the most solid option out of all the big ones.
I like this subreddit because it’s a great way to stay on top of gaming news without having to sift through the memes and low-effort content that plague other gaming communities on Reddit.
12.r/scifiandr/fantasy
For lovers of speculative fiction, these two subreddits should be at the top of your list to check out. r/scifi is all about science fiction and r/fantasy is all about fantasy, and both cover all kinds of media: movies, TV shows, games, but mainly books.
These two communities are equal mixtures of news and discussion. You’ll find everything from blog posts to tweets to trailers to recommendation threads.
11.r/malefashionadviceandr/femalefashionadvice
If you want to learn how to dress like an adult—which is not the same thing as dressing up—then r/malefashionadvice and r/femalefashionadvice are both extremely helpful.
Both communities are geared towards people who don’t know much about personal style, so a lot of the advice tends to emphasize basics, fundamentals, and timeless concepts.
You don’t have to obey everything they say. Learn what you can, incorporate the parts you like, and develop your own style.
10.r/boardgames
Are you a fan of board games who’s interested in an active online community about board games but don’t like the general attitude or atmosphere of BoardGameGeek’s forums?
Then r/boardgames is where you want to be. It’s a great place to explore your favorite board games, find new recommendations, make suggestions of your own, and just shoot the breeze about anything that’s even remotely related to board gaming.
While it’s nowhere near as organized as BGG’s forums, the community here is both welcoming and helpful.
Related: The most popular types of board games
9.r/eatcheapandhealthy
This place is a treasure trove of helpful and creative advice. You’ll learn all kinds of staple recipes that’ll stretch your dollar and fill you up in healthy ways, along with offbeat tips for unique snacks that don’t cost much and ways to save money while shopping for groceries.
It doesn’t matter if you’ve never cooked your own food before, or if you’re truly on a shoestring budget, or you have no idea what to do. This community is a solid starting point.
8.r/buildapc
Whether you’re thinking of building your own PC for the very first time or you’ve already built a few, r/buildapc is the best subreddit for tips and advice for everything related to building computers.
Not sure where to begin? Need help choosing between CPUs or GPUs? Want to know where to buy stuff while saving the most money? Want to share your own knowledge and expertise? Everyone is welcome and you’ll fit right in.
7.r/personalfinance
Are you living paycheck to paycheck? Does money stress you out? Want to take control of your spending but feel overwhelmed? r/personalfinance will get you on your feet and help you become the master over your money rather than its slave.
This subreddit is pretty much a one-stop shop for all things related to money: budgeting, credit cards, debt relief, mortgages, spending habits, retirement savings, tax questions, investing, and more.
There’s a lot to learn, but spend a year lurking in this community and reading through its threads and you’ll soon find yourself a lot more comfortable with money—and building a better life for yourself.
6.r/television
r/television is the all-encompassing subreddit community for TV shows, TV series, mini-series, TV streaming platforms, and more.
People are free to post their own discussion threads—and said discussions can be about anything related to TV—but most of the subreddit’s feed is comprised of articles, videos, and tweets pertaining to TV news.
It’s a great way to stay on top of TV announcements. But I also recommend participating in the weekly megathread where people talk about what they’re currently watching and ask for recommendations on what they should watch next.
5.r/askscience
Have a science-related question? Want answers from qualified scientists and experts, or at least people who know what they’re talking about and can back it up with sources?
r/askscience is great because the moderation team enforces two main policies: answers must be in-depth and supported by peer-reviewed sources whenever possible, and joke replies are not allowed.
You can really ask about any field of science, including biology, chemistry, earth science, medicine, physics, social science, and more. If you’re an expert in a scientific field, you should participate!
4.r/gadgets
It’s also why r/gadgets is generally higher quality than other popular tech-related subreddits like r/technology.
3.r/explainlikeimfive
r/explainlikeimfive (often abbreviated as “ELI5”) has blown up over the past few years into one of the most popular and most active subreddits on the entire site.
Want to know how something works but you can’t understand the stuff you find on Google? Ask about it here and people will try to dumb it down, explaining the answer in a way that should make sense to even five-year-olds. (Figuratively speaking.)
No question is too stupid to ask, but the sidebar does put forth a few restrictions on the types of questions you can ask, so make sure you read them before asking anything.
2.r/movies
The cousin to r/television, r/movies is the main gathering spot for movie fans to discuss all things related to movies.
The moderation team is pretty active, and they’re quick to create review megathreads whenever new movies are released. These megathreads are fun and interesting, allowing people to share their thoughts while a movie’s buzz is at its buzziest.
The rest of the subreddit is comprised of trailers, news, recommendations, and general discussions about specific movies, genres, or trends in the movie industry.
1.r/videos
If you’ve spent any time on Reddit before, then you’ve likely come across dozens of videos from r/videos already. Simply put, this subreddit is a dumping ground for cool videos.
You’ll find things like:
- Movie and TV trailers
- Comedy sketches
- Video essays about anything and everything
- How-to videos and explanation videos
- Memes, parodies, and general nonsense
- Nostalgic videos from the past
I recommend starting with the top posts of all time in r/videos to see some really cool, really informative, and really weird videos.
