He has released four stand-up albums produced by Grammy-winner Dan Schlissel, including the 2020 release Zero Tolerance, which reached No. 1 on the iTunes comedy chart.[7] Reviewer Richard Lanoie, writing on The Serious Comedy Site, called Shubert "an aggressive, not overly blue comic who has a caustic take on the world,"[8] and said "Zero Tolerance more than proves [that] Shubert is the very best at rant comedy."[9]
Shubert decided to be a comedian at 18,[10] and after performing on local stages, moved to California to start his career. He worked as a doorman at Los Angeles club The Comedy Store, and lived in a house owned by the club's owner Mitzi Shore with roommates Andrew Dice Clay, Sam Kinison, and Marc Maron.[11][2] He wrote jokes for Yakov Smirnoff, Jimmy Walker, and Louie Anderson.[12] He befriended Kinison in 1984 after accepting a dare to drive his motorcycle onstage during Kinison's set.[3] Later, he was part of Kinison's "Outlaws of Comedy," opening for him on tour for five years before Kinison's 1992 death.[4][13]
Along with Lewis Black and Doug Stanhope, he was one of the first comedians signed to the label Stand Up! Records,[16] which has released four of his albums. His style has been described as "old-school" observational comedy with "the outlook of a modern-day Archie Bunker" about everyday annoyances like Starbucks and airport security.[17][18][19] Jason Birchmeier of Allmusic said that "Shubert's confidence and lucid delivery enhances his humor, making even his most perverse moments hilarious."[20]
From 2013 to 2015, he hosted 51 episodes of half-hour podcast The Jimmy Shubert Show.[15][21]
