10 Best Episodes Of Everybody Loves Raymond, Ranked

Oh, how we miss "Everybody Loves Raymond." For nine seasons, this amazing sitcom captured the highs and lows of marriage and family life through the eyes of Ray Barone (Ray Romano), his wife Debra (Patricia Heaton), his brother Robert (Brad Garrett), and his parents, Frank (Peter Boyle) and Marie (Doris Roberts). Each episode homed in on a small detail, like, say, a box of tissues or a thermostat, and found a way to turn it into a family debacle. That deceptively simple approach gave "Raymond" universal appeal, as nearly everyone has had silly arguments with their loved ones over something as insignificant as a can opener.

We already ranked all nine seasons of "Everybody Loves Raymond," but we couldn't resist revisiting this classic show. Except this time we're focusing on its best episodes. And yes, this was a tough one because "Raymond" remained remarkably consistent throughout its run, which meant some classics didn't make the cut. At any rate, read on for the 10 best episodes of "Everybody Loves Raymond."

"The Angry Family" lands at No. 10 on this list because it's essentially the entire premise of "Everybody Loves Raymond" condensed into a single episode. When Michael writes a story about a very specific angry family, our core group spends the rest of the episode debating whether there's any truth to the material.

The big twist is that Michael didn't base the story on his family but on a TV show he watches. We learn this at the end, but that reveal recontextualizes the entire episode. Nobody actually accused the Barones of being the angry family — they incriminate themselves by immediately recognizing their own behavior in Michael's story.

From there, we see Ray and Debra confront Michael's teacher, with Debra cutting loose with a brilliant rant about her plight. This leads to a deeper session with the whole family and Father Hubley, where they try to discern the source of the family's anger.

Again, there's a unique psychological approach to the proceedings that makes the episode as fascinating as it is funny. Deep down, the Barones recognize the truth, which makes the situation all the more painful. They are an angry family, perhaps more so than others, but they're simply doing their best — at least, according to Father Hundley — and sometimes that's enough. Leave it to "Raymond" to present such a witty, thoughtful, and insightful look at familial life.

Season 5 of "Raymond" has so many bangers that it's hard to choose just one. We can't have a Top 10 list without including "Christmas Present." Here, Ray feels the need to finagle his way into a golf weekend by buttering up Debra. Commence a hefty batch of twists and turns.

Every new present escalates the situation, particularly the moment when Robert opens the tie he thought Ray had bought for him. Suddenly, the guys realize their entire gift-giving strategy was based on faulty intelligence. Then Debra gives Ray a DVD player, resulting in this classic exchange:

Marie: "What is a DVD player? Is it for pornography?"
Debra: "Yes, Marie, I got Ray a porn machine."
Marie: "I don't like that, Debra."

Beyond the terrific dialogue, "Christmas Present" works because it exposes the flaw in Ray's thinking. Since he's using generosity to manipulate Debra, he naturally assumes she must be doing the same to him. The possibility that his wife simply bought him something nice never really occurs to him.

Once again, Ray ruins what should have been a happy moment. Worse, he keeps pressing until he convinces Debra that she's behaving like a martyr. There's a certain truth to his words, but that's what makes the conclusion so satisfying: Ray wins an argument he never needed to have and ultimately talks himself out of everything he wanted. In the end, Ray gets nothing, and Debra gets a much-deserved nap.

Starting way back in Season 2, we get "Good Girls," one of the better episodes of the show's early run. Not only does it offer a nice contrast between Ray and Debra's cynical dynamic and Robert and Amy's new-couple vibe, but it also sheds more light on Marie's worldview — specifically in relation to Debra.

See, in Marie's eyes, Debra is a bad girl. And so, she gravitates toward Amy, who she believes is practically a saint. Naturally, greater truths are revealed about everyone, even Marie, whose hypocrisy takes center stage.

In the end, the family gathers at Frank and Marie's house to hash out the issue, leading to an absurd number of hilarious moments. "I keep forgetting what a freak show this family is until someone new comes along and looks at us like that," Debra quips, noting Amy's confused reaction to the shenanigans. Each new line of dialogue unveils a striking piece of information that shifts the moral high ground and carries hilarious repercussions for everyone, culminating in the most insane iteration of "Happy Birthday" you'll ever see.

It's quintessential "Raymond," taking a small issue and turning it into a much larger Barone family incident while revealing something about nearly everyone involved along the way. While the comedy isn't quite as relentless as other episodes on this list, "Good Girls" represents an early look at the magnificent show "Raymond" would eventually become.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" got off to a bumpy start, but occasionally hinted at the greatness that lay in store for audiences. "Diamonds," while a tad uneven, delivers one of the show's best moments. Ray attempts to switch the stone in Debra's engagement ring with a better one. See, back when they were engaged, Ray unknowingly bought her a fake diamond. Unbeknownst to him, Debra later switched the stone with a real one ... ah, worth a cool $15,000.

Romano's reaction to hearing the cost of the diamond is hilarious. He collapses to the floor as though he were shot. Even better, Debra takes one look at her "new" diamond and snaps, "What did you do, Ray?" to which he fearfully replies, "I meant well."

Admittedly, the episode takes its time building toward this moment, but it hits like a sledgehammer. And when the show tries to get all gooey with Ally's Valentine's Day card, Ray undercuts the moment with the type of signature jab he would use in abundance in later episodes.

Ironically, this is one of those moments where Ray genuinely attempts to do something nice for Debra. It's almost painful to watch him correct an embarrassing mistake only to create an exponentially worse situation for himself. It's a classic Ray episode in which even his best intentions have a funny way of ending in chaos.

In terms of escalating arguments, you can't do much better than "The Walk to the Door." The Barones spend most of the episode at a wedding where Ray bumps into a girl he once took on a date in high school. Eventually, the conversation turns to regrets, with Ray revealing that he regrets not walking the girl to her door after their date.

Indeed, the theme of regret is prevalent throughout the episode, along with the broader idea that we imagine resolving old regrets will magically change how we feel about them when, in reality, they often just reopen old wounds. Ray spends the entire episode seeking closure over a seemingly insignificant moment from years ago. Yet, when pressed, he can't think of a single regret involving Debra and winds up stealing Robert's regret just to calm her down.

Despite the heavier theme, "The Walk to the Door" never forgets to be funny. Sharp dialogue and perfect comedic timing abound, along with hilarious beats — Robert dancing with the kids, deliciously mean banter between Frank and Marie, and the way everyone more or less overlooks Robert.

This is the type of episode that made "Everybody Loves Raymond" one of the best biographical sitcoms of all time. It's funny, heartbreaking, insightful, sometimes cruel, but always sidesplitting right down to the last-second twist where we learn that Marie arranged Ray's aforementioned date. TV doesn't get much better.

A simple premise gives way to big laughs in the Season 5 episode "Humm Vac." Here's the gist: Ray buys a new vacuum cleaner from an attractive saleswoman. It's a terrific device that sucks up a lot more dirt than their regular household vacuum cleaner. Unfortunately, we later learn that Marie sent the saleswoman to Ray's house because she felt Debra needed extra help keeping it clean. Ouch.

As the best episodes of "Raymond" do, "Humm Vac" soon switches gears. Early on, it appears the story will revolve around Debra's anger over Ray purchasing a vacuum without her approval. Then the writers pull the rug out and turn the affair into another round of Debra vs. Marie.

And yet, the biggest shocker is that the wronged party — in this case, Debra — loses. Despite holding all the cards, she's simply no match for her mother-in-law and practically blows a gasket when her revenge strategy doesn't play out as expected, eventually resorting to a petty bit of sabotage to make herself feel better.

Once again, Ray falters under pressure, refusing to back his wife when she needs him most. Even Frank and Robert are wise enough not to cross Marie over her home. More than anything, "Humm Vac" makes us understand why Debra finds life within the Barone family so maddening.

Christmas with the Barones always hits different, but the Season 3 episode "The Toaster" takes the cake as the family's most rewarding Yuletide outing. The story initially follows Ray as he deals with the fallout from a Christmas gift: a toaster engraved with his family's names. At first, everything goes surprisingly well — Debra's parents and Robert love the gift. Then the other shoe drops.

Frank and Marie were underwhelmed by the present and exchanged it for a coffee maker. Eventually, they're forced to head back to the department store to find Ray's gift.

"The Toaster" starts slow before giving way to an endless array of hilarious comedy beats. From Frank and Marie bemoaning their endless stream of shoddy Christmas gifts to the madcap third act in which they tear apart the store searching for the right toaster, everything here clicks. Add in some terrific one-liners — "I'm not some trophy wife," Marie snaps at Frank, forcing the old man to fire back, "What contest in Hell did I win?" — and you've got yourself a perfect episode.

Also, was anyone else pining to see a flashback to the moment Frank and Marie opened their "Fruit of the Month Club" certificate?

Another key point: we typically never see Ray fight back. In "The Toaster," he's genuinely miffed that his parents casually reject his gift. It's a fun about-face for a character who often causes more problems by refusing to stand up for himself.

A trend among the episodes on this list is that most of them have the good sense to home in on Ray and Debra's often volatile relationship. "Bad Moon Rising" follows suit, focusing on Ray's attempts to decipher his wife's behavior during her, ah, time of the month. Going one step further, he uses a tape recorder to capture her mood swings, almost as if conducting a scientific experiment.

Predictably, this is an enormous miscalculation on Ray's part, making the situation exponentially worse. Rather than retreat or apologize for his actions, he keeps producing more evidence for his argument, digging himself into a deeper hole.

"Bad Moon Rising" presents a classic battle of the sexes, except this time, Ray has no reasonable explanation to fall back on. There's an interesting self-fulfilling aspect to his actions: Whether Debra is experiencing PMS-related mood swings or not, Ray's buffoonery gives her increasingly legitimate reasons to be angry.

It's the perfect setup for Romano and Heaton, and the two actors knock it out of the park. Heaton nabbed a much-deserved Emmy for her incredible performance, while Romano and Phil Rosenthal earned a nomination for their script.

Beyond the performances, the episode's willingness to venture into uncomfortable territory is what makes it so special. In marriage, sometimes your spouse isn't angry because there's something wrong with them. Sometimes they're just mad because you're being annoying.

"Everybody Loves Raymond" loved to push its family-friendly TV-PG rating to the brink — the show often ventured into adult territory without ever becoming too crude for youngsters. Case in point: "Marie's Sculpture," in which Marie creates a work of art that, ah, resembles a certain female body part.

Ray is quick to note its resemblance, sharing his perspective with Debra and later Robert. All are understandably aghast, but they must now figure out how to tell an oblivious Marie before she donates it to a local church.

The premise is gloriously ridiculous, and the joke works primarily because Marie — the ultimate prude — is the last person you'd expect to create something so sexual. Each character gets an opportunity to react accordingly, except for Frank, who is mesmerized even if he can't quite figure out what the piece of art reminds him of.

What should have been a one-joke premise becomes a hilarious half-hour of television, with writer Jennifer Crittenden finding clever new ways to expand upon the situation. At one point, a pair of nuns arrives to wheel Marie's sculpture to their church, only to stare aghast at the behemoth.

The entire episode is executed to perfection. We're hesitant to drop it into the top three because, as much as "Marie's Sculpture" makes us laugh, it doesn't really shed light on any of the characters the same way the remaining episodes do. As a one-off gag episode, though, it works ridiculously well.

Every married couple will instantly identify with "Baggage." Released toward the end of Season 7, the episode sees Ray and Debra at war over a suitcase. Of course, it's not really about the luggage. Neither party wants to give in and move the bulky object from its position on the staircase landing because doing so would upset the balance of power in their marriage.

It's all about control, you see — and unspoken resentment.

The episode exemplifies marriage in a nutshell. Like many couples, Ray and Debra never sit down to sort out their underlying conflict. Each person believes the other doesn't appreciate them, and that resentment leads to petty conflicts over insignificant objects. Whoever moves the luggage essentially concedes that the other side won. How does that affect similar situations in the future?

This is what makes "Everybody Loves Raymond" so brilliant. Yes, the whole episode is hilarious and relatively lighthearted, but there's a truth underneath it that hits much deeper. You laugh and then realize you've left an unwashed plate in the sink for the very same reason. Yes, that's marriage.

Written by Tucker Cawley, who won an Emmy for his outstanding work, "Baggage" works on multiple layers. It's funny, surprisingly thoughtful, and painfully relatable. And that doesn't even account for Marie's fork and spoon. If anything, the episode demonstrates just how well "Raymond" understands relationships, finding enormous meaning — and even bigger laughs — in life's smallest conflicts.