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The Definitive Saturday Night Live Sketch Rankings

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Saturday Night Live celebrates 40 years old this Sunday with a reunion of cast members and perennial hosts from Steve Martin to Tina Fey. Drawing on a meticulous archive of the show compiled by superfan Joel Navaroli, TIME crunched the numbers behind the show’s history to see which actors, celebrities and politicians truly belong in the SNL hall of fame.

Explore Saturday Night Live history here.

Thompson overtook Darrell Hammond last season to become the most versatile impersonator of all time. Across his 12 seasons on SNL, he has impersonated Al Sharpton, Al Roker, Aretha Franklin and 111 other people.

While most U.S. Presidents fade from SNL after their years in office, Bill Clinton has continued to appear regularly as a character in sketches, often alongside Hillary. Five cast members have impersonated Bill over the years, but Darrell Hammond was the long-time master making 84 appearances as Bill during the Clinton presidency.

Nothing like having a television show to draw the attention of SNL‘s writers. News anchors and personalities dominate the list of top celebrity impersonation rankings.

In 2013, SNL mocked its own lack of African-American female cast members when Scandal‘s Kerry Washington played Michelle Obama, Beyoncé and Oprah in the same sketch. To drive home the point, six white males appear at the end as Matthew McConaughey. Hillary Clinton, who takes second prize, has been impersonated by nine different actresses since 1992.

Thompson surged into the lead last year, his 12th season on the show.

Charles Rocket made the most of his one season on SNL in 1980-1981 by appearing in nearly every sketch. With the exception of Wiig and Ferrell, runners-up are likewise from early seasons of SNL, when smaller casts made for more appearances.

Though SNL alumni often return to host, celebrities still hold down much of the list, with the “Five-Timers” Club lead by Alec Baldwin, who’s hosted 16 times since 1990.

The Muppets appeared most often as guests in SNL’s first season, but they’ve since returned for musical numbers and “Weekend Update,” where Kermit took Amy Poehler’s spot for “‘Really?’ with Seth and Kermit.” (One-time cast members’ appearances count as “cameos” if they appeared on the show after leaving the cast.)

All images by NBC/Getty Images

See the Best Impressions on Saturday Night Live

Save The Liver
Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child in 1978.Edie Baskin—Warner Bros./Archive Photos/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Dan Aykroyd as President Richard Nixon in 1978.Fred Hermansky—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Dana Carvey as Ross Perot in 1993.Raymond Bonar—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live - Season 22
Norm MacDonald as David Letterman in 1997.Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live - Season 23
From left: Molly Shannon as Monica Lewinsky and John Goodman as Linda Tripp in 1998.Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
From left: Jimmy Fallon as Michael Stipe and Ana Gasteyer as Celine Dion in 1998.Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Darrell Hammond as Sean Connery in 2000.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Will Ferrell as Alex Trebek in 2002.Mary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Maya Rudolph as Donatella VersaceMary Ellen Matthews—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Alec Baldwin as Tony Bennett in 2005.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
From left: Darrell Hammond as Bill Clinton and Will Ferrell as Janet Reno in 2007.NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live
Will Farrell as President George W. Bush in 2008.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
From left: Tina Fey as Governor Sarah Palin and Amy Poehler as Senator Hillary Clinton in 2008.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live - Season 37
Kristen Wiig as Liza Minnelli in 2012.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live - Season 40
Kenan Thompson as Rev. Al Sharpton on Oct. 25, 2014.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live - Season 40
Kevin Hart as James Brown on Jan. 17, 2015.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images
Saturday Night Live - Season 40
Kate McKinnon as Justin Bieber on Jan. 17, 2015.Dana Edelson—NBC/Getty Images

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