Episode Rankings: How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother isn't one of the funnier sitcoms ever made (though it definitely has its moments), but it does boast some of the best plotting in a sitcom. This show's flashback structure is incredibly well-executed and allows for some strong character development, hilarious smash cuts, and effective emotional gut punches. While HIMYM isn't anything spectacular and does suffer from a pretty awful ending, I still found myself enjoying the series and would easily recommend it to sitcom fans. Here's my ranking of its episodes:

1. How Your Mother Met Me (S9.16)
2. Girls Vs Suits (S5.12)
3. The Final Page: Part 2 (S8.12)
4. Slap Bet (S2.09)
5. Subway Wars (S6.04)
6. The Final Page: Part 1 (S8.11)
7. Symphony Of Illumination (S7.12)
8. Something New (S8.24)
9. The Playbook (S5.08)
10. Sandcastles In The Sand (S3.16)
11. Bad News (S6.13)
12. The Leap (S4.24)
13. The Pineapple Incident (S1.10)
14. Challenge Accepted (S6.24)
15. Arrivaderci, Fiero (S2.17) - 500 Miles is the greatest song ever
16. Intervention (S4.04)
17. Swarley (S2.07)
18. False Positive (S6.12)
19. The Time Travelers (S8.20)
20. Tick Tick Tick (S7.10)
21. Come On (S1.22)
22. The Magician's Code: Part 2 (S7.24)
23. Game Night (S1.15) - The start of Barney's villain arc 
24. Last Words (S6.14)
25. Trilogy Time (S7.20)
26. Gary Blauman (S9.21)
27. The Possimpible (S4.14)
28. How I Met Everyone Else (S3.05)
29. Something Borrowed (S2.21)
30. The Window (S5.10)
31. Disaster Averted (S7.09)
32. Spoiler Alert (S3.08)
33. Glitter (S6.09)
34. End Of The Aisle (S9.22)
35. The Naked Man (S4.09)
36. Something Blue (S2.22)
37. Platoonish (S9.09)
38. The Three Days Rule (S4.21)
39. Perfect Week (S5.14)
40. Miracles (S3.20)
41. The Limo (S1.11)
42. Of Course (S5.17)
43. The Over-Correction (S8.10)
44. The Best Burger In New York (S4.02)
45. The Magician's Code: Part 1 (S7.23)
46. Farhampton (S8.01)
47. Three Days Of Snow (S4.13)
48. Showdown (S2.20)
49. Slapsgiving (S3.09)
50. Dopplegangers (S5.24)
51. Brunch (S2.03)
52. Robin 101 (S5.03)
53. No Pressure (S7.17)
54. Happily Ever After (S4.06)
55. Monday Night Football (S2.14)
56. Rally (S9.18)
57. Ducky Tie (S7.03)
58. The Front Porch (S4.17)
59. The Goat (S3.17)
60. Dowisetrepia (S3.07)
61. The Rebound Girl (S7.11)
62. Unpause (S9.15)
63. The Wedding Bride (S5.23)
64. Drumroll, Please (S1.13)
65. Definitions (S5.01)
66. No Questions Asked (S9.07)
67. Legendaddy (S6.19)
68. Benefits (S4.12)
69. How Lily Stole Christmas (S2.11)
70. Cleaning House (S6.02)
71. Bass Player Wanted (S9.13)
72. The Best Man (S7.01)
73. The Platinum Rule (S3.11)
74. Blitzgiving (S6.10)
75. Nothing Good Happens After 2 AM (S1.18)
76. Right Place, Right Time (S4.22)
77. Okay Awesome (S1.05)
78. Shelter Island (S4.05)
79. PS I Love You (S8.15)
80. Jenkins (S5.13)
81. World's Greatest Couple (S2.05)
82. Natural History (S6.08)
83. Little Minnesota (S4.11)
84. Milk (S1.21)
85. Landmarks (S6.23)
86. Splitsville (S8.06)
87. Slapsgiving 2: Revenge Of The Slap (S5.09)
88. Do I Know You? (S4.01)
89. Sunrise (S9.17)
90. Pilot (S1.01)
91. Last Time In New York (S9.03)
92. The Drunk Train (S7.16)
93. Lucky Penny (S2.15)
94. Say Cheese (S5.18)
95. The Stinson Missile Crisis (S7.04)
96. The Bro Mitzvah (S8.22)
97. I'm Not That Guy (S3.06)
98. Ted Mosby, Architect (S2.04)
99. Murtaugh (S4.19)
100. The Wedding (S1.12)
101. Daisy (S9.20)
102. Double Date (S5.02)
103. The Slutty Pumpkin Returns (S7.08)
104. Where Were We? (S2.01)
105. Big Days (S6.01)
106. Rabbit Or Duck (S5.15)
107. Moving Day (S2.18)
108. Purple Giraffes (S1.02)
109. Oh Honey (S6.15)
110. Woooo! (S4.08)
111. Weekend At Barney's (S8.18)
112. Third Wheel (S3.03)
113. As Fast As She Can (S4.23)
114. Atlantic City (S2.08)
115. No Tomorrow (S3.12)
116. Band Or DJ? (S8.13)
117. Home Wreckers (S5.20)
118. Sorry, Bro (S4.16)
119. The Broath (S7.19)
120. Bagpipes (S5.06)
121. Cupcake (S1.16)
122. Baby Talk (S6.06)
123. The Sweet Taste Of Liberty (S1.03)
124. Something Old (S8.23)
125. The Naked Truth (S7.02)
126. Who Wants To Be A Godparent (S8.04)
127. Single Stamina (S2.10)
128. Robots Vs Wrestlers (S5.22)
129. The Yips (S3.10)
130. Mary The Paralegal (S1.19)
131. A Change Of Heart (S6.18)
132. Ten Horny Women (S8.08)
133. Tailgate (S7.13)
134. Unfinished (S6.03)
135. Not A Father's Day (S4.07)
136. Now We're Even (S7.21)
137. Slutty Pumpkin (S1.06)
138. I Heart NJ (S4.03)
139. Wait For It (S3.01)
140. Duel Citizenships (S5.05)
141. The Pre Nup (S8.02)
142. Karma (S7.18)
143. Columns (S2.13)
144. The Bracket (S3.14)
145. Zoo Or False (S5.19)
146. The Mermaid Theory (S6.11)
147. The Locket (S9.01)
148. The Scorpion And The Toad (S2.02)
149. The Rehearsal Dinner (S9.12)
150. Bad Crazy (S8.16)
151. Mystery Vs History (S7.06)
152. Old King Clancy (S4.18)
153. Hopeless (S6.21)
154. Good Crazy (S7.22)
155. Stuff (S2.16)
156. Vesuvius (S9.19)
157. Lobster Crawl (S8.09)
158. The Sexless Innkeeper (S5.04)
159. Mosbius Designs (S4.20)
160. Zip, Zip, Zip (S1.14)
161. Hooked (S5.16)
162. Desperation Day (S6.16)
163. The Broken Code (S9.04)
164. We're Not From Here (S3.02)
165. The Fortress (S8.19)
166. The Autumn Of Breakups (S8.05) - 7.9
167. Bachelor Party (S2.19)
168. The Duel (S1.08)
169. Noretta (S7.07)
170. 46 Minutes (S7.14)
171. Knight Vision (S9.06)
172. Canning Randy (S6.07)
173. The Stinsons (S4.15)
174. The Exploding Meatball Sub (S6.20)
175. The Chain Of Screaming (S3.15)
176. Twin Beds (S5.21)
177. Ten Sessions (S3.13)
178. Coming Back (S9.02)
179. Aldrin Justice (S2.06)
180. Return Of The Shirt (S1.04)
181. The Fight (S4.10)
182. The Ashtray (S8.17) 
183. The Rough Patch (S5.07)
184. Architect Of Destruction (S6.05)
185. Life Among The Gorillas (S1.17)
186. Romeward Bound (S8.21)
187. Best Prom Ever (S1.20)
188. Field Trip (S7.05)
189. Little Boys (S3.04)
190. Nannies (S8.03)
191. The Perfect Cocktail (S6.22)
192. Belly Full Of Turkey (S1.09)
193. Rebound Bro (S3.18)
194. Matchmaker (S1.07)
195. First Time In New York (S2.12)
196. Ring Up (S8.14)
197. The Poker Game (S9.05)
198. Last Cigarette Ever (S5.11)
199. Garbage Island (S6.17) 
200. The Stamp Tramp (S8.07)
201. Everything Must Go (S3.19)
202. The Burning Beekeeper (S7.15)
203. The Lighthouse (S9.08)
204. Slapsgiving 3: Slappointment In Slapmarra (S9.14)
205. Mom And Dad (S9.10)
206. Bedtime Stories (S9.11)
207. Last Forever (S9.23/24)