The 50 greatest music videos of all time, ranked
Prince, Madonna, Duran Duran, Beyoncé, R.E.M., Taylor Swift, and Sinead O'Connor are just some of the artists who make our list of the best videos ever
Music Lists Jay Kay
Ever since it launched back on August 1, 1981, MTV has been a constant reminder of the central role music videos play in pop culture. Of course, this art form existed well before the network started handing out “moon man” trophies during the first MTV Video Music Awards in September 1984. Music videos were available in some rudimentary form back in the 1960s—the Beatles made a short film for “Strawberry Fields Forever” and “Penny Lane” when the studio-bound band wanted to plug a new single—and they continue to exist long after MTV has largely abandoned music programming.
Nevertheless, it’s impossible to deny that the glory days of the music video were the 1980s and 1990s, when the form dominated popular discourse. Even now the biggest videos of that era—“Thriller,” “…Baby One More Time,” “Vogue,” “Sabotage”—are ever present in pop culture, as much for their visuals as for the songs they accompany. The occasion of the 39th MTV VMAs allows us to look back on the great videos that have been made over the years. Don’t think of this list as comprehensive as much as a thorough sampler, one that illustrates the wide range of music videos and their lasting impact on the culture over the last four decades.
329 Comments
How the hell did Karma Police not make this list?
Surprised not to see Daft Punk’s ‘One More Time’ (or anything off Discovery/Interstella 5555) on this list. That they made an entire rock Opera out of that album with icon Leiji Matsumoto deserves some recognition.
No Daft Punk… BOOOOO!!
No Gorillaz
No Weird Al
No Herbie Hancock – RockitAnd No Country music!?!?!?
This list is trash…
Country music videos are some of the biggest tripe I’ve ever seen. I couldn’t name one that would make any greatest list.
Well country music is mostly trash so nah
I absolutely hated Rockit and especially the video when it came out. I love Rockit now, and can tolerate the video if forced to. I have a better sound system now, and Rockit just crushes on it, plus I’ve grown to like the song regardless. There should have been at least one Weird Al video out of many to represent him. I personally would have picked “White and Nerdy”, but I can understand others would disagree.
I would put Around The World ahead of that.
And I would put Da Funk ahead of that.
Speaking of electro-pop videos: Dirty Vegas’ “Days Go By” is totally memorable. Definitely top 50 all time.
Needs more Bjork. She has, like, at least 5 videos that are fantastic, if not some of the best of all time (All Is Full of Love, It’s Oh So Quiet, Human Behaviour, Hyperballad, Army of Me, Triumph of a Heart, etc.).
making lists like this always brings out the offended (“how could you miss __”) but really, not having not one Bjork video (or two or three) on this list is unbelievable
Yeah, when it’s limited to just 50 total videos there’s inevitably going to be a lot of great stuff left out, but it seems like just ONE Bjork video (any of those ones I mentioned/any of her work with Gondry, Jonze, Chris Cunningham) deserves a top 50 spot. I kinda dislike how every “best music videos” list feels obligated to give a spot to “Video Killed the Radio Star”. It’s only listed because it marked the debut of MTV and the lyrics happen to kinda sound like the dawn of the “music video” era, but the video itself is nothing special, folks.
What? No Lionel Ritchie’s “Hello” – the Battleship Potemkin of rock video clips?Of course, it’s not as good as this one.
This is missing two (IMO) classics, “Don’t Call Me Al” and “Love Shack”. It seems like those videos were everywhere when I was a kid.
Uh, you actually do have explicit permission to call him Al.
Only if he can call you Betty.
Maybe it was because I thought Sting was super-hot in the 80’s, but I’d throw a Police video on this list. “Every Breath You Take” and “Wrapped Around Your Finger” were more visually memorable than a lot of videos of the era.Seeing “Loser” on the list reminds me of playing that song for my Gen Z kid and getting asked, “Is this a real song or a joke?”
Hey, I thought that when “Loser” was brand spanking new.
What did you decide (?) because I’ve always thought it was bloody awful. (I loved ‘Sea Change though!)
I think it’s a dumb song, but he went on to show that’s not all he did.
Sea Change is pretty ok.Love Mutations though!
Wrapped Around Your Finger for sure. Obviously Every Breath was their biggest hit but I don’t remember much about the video, while Wrapped has indelible imagery.
Every Breath You Take was mostly a performance video in black and white with lots of shadows.
That’s really the only image I remember – profile of Sting playing his standup bass. It’s fine, but nothing to write home about.
Bowie did it first…
…and second:
It can be two things.
This is a foolish list to even attempt for any other reason than SEO engagement, so yeah, well done.Anyway, it’s missing the best video of all time somehowAlso, Failure’s James Bond-esque video for “Stuck On You” is a classic for me:
I’m with you on the Replacements.
That video couldn’t be more Replacements if it tried. Not that it would, because that wouldn’t be cool.
Yes to the Replacements!
Bahahaha, I basically just commented this!
I’m happy to see “Common People,” but where is “Girlfriend in a Coma”?
Came here to say this about the Replacements. But it wouldn’t be the perfect Gen X video if it and the band actually got the credit they deserve. I hope the band members are making some money from being featured in the new Guardians of the Galaxy, at least.
Generally a pretty good list. The only omission than jumps out to me is no Hype Williams. His videos became the template for hip-hop videos in the late 90s.
I suppose two Michael Jackson videos are plenty, but I would have expected Smooth Criminal to make the list, too. I think “the lean” and Jackson’s white suit have become pretty iconic.
Being boring by Pet shop boys and the boys of summer by Don Henley are top 5.https://youtu.be/6RUIeX6UCT8?si=IcxDssdw—B8rekFhttps://youtu.be/DnvFOaBoieE?si=wgBCkmDOb0GyjSq9
Not one Devo song? They practically invented music video. Devolution is real. Disqualified.
Sledgehammer is still great though.
List could also use some Weird Al.
This is also true.
That is a pretty big omission. Not only is Al a great musical artists he also directed a bunch of his own classic videos like Amish Paradise, White and Nerdy and Tacky.
Dare to be Stupid is my favorite of the music videos, coincidentally a Devo inspired song. But you could make an argument for like a dozen videos such as Like a Surgeon.
Thriller is the best music video of all time, no matter what MJ did.
Wrong Pulp video.
I’d even throw in this one.
I know it’ll never make a list like this but I absolutely adore DJ Shadow and Run the Jewel’s video for Nobody Speak:
Love this video. Didn’t even get proper recognition the year it came out.
I did not know it at the time but being a preteen to teenager in the 1980s with MTV would be such a cultural gift. Running home to catch new videos to talk about with friends the next day. Latch key kids fooling around after school and having mtv in the background. Watching Live Aid …Live. All of it was a Gen X communal experience that younger generations will not experience.
This cannot be stressed enough.
Excellent comment.No notes.
It’s obviously very hard to narrow down thousands of videos to just 50, but I will always have a special place in my heart for Black Hole Sun by Soundgarden, and its omission from this list is glaring. Great video, great song. Sober by Tool also needs to be here.
When that video came out when I was a preteen, I was so freaked out by it that it took me years to be able to watch it.
Oh, yeah!
Ick.
Thriller should always be number 1 and nirvana’s teen spirit number 2 unless i missed something, there is no nirvana on this list at all. complete garbage.
Smells Like Teen Spirit is #19
Yeah, whoever wrote this list wasn’t alive during the MTV era. It looks like they picked random popular videos from scattered eras. Thriller was the biggest video of all-time, spawning 30 million records sold in the U.S. for that album. Billie Jean was actually the video that started that whole thing, but Thriller topped it.Smells Like Teen Spirit was the biggest video of the 1990s.Sledgehammer got air-time, but it wasn’t anything spectacular, more of a curiosity. I have no idea who made the list, but they couldn’t be old enough to remember when these videos were actually out or the impact they had. Thriller was the biggest video MTV ever played, Smells like Teen Spirit would be second. Prince’s Kiss wasn’t even a popular video compared to When Doves Cry.They picked most of the top videos at least. Can’t fault a kid if they didn’t live through the 80s or 90s I guess or understand the difference between a video that was just popular and one that changed the whole music industry.
It was a huge song but it’s not an exceptionally good video by any means. It isn’t even the best video from that album, never mind Nirvana’s best.
Nirvana’s Smells Like Teen Spirit was on the list (#19), but it is a huge failure not to list Weird Al’s Smells Like Nirvana, which is even better.
Honestly virtually all of Weird Al’s videos are better than those of the songs they parody. If only one Nirvana video was going to make the list, I’d have picked “In Bloom” which brilliantly lampooned the manufactured squeaky clean pop idol formula of the 50s and early 60s. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” was obviously a much bigger hit but the video itself is just kind of oh well, whatever, nevermind.
lol, nice mention of Weird Al! but it’s also about the entire package, how the artist and song affected the world via the music video. At least I hope so.
When I was a kid in the 80’s and MTV every so often did their Top 100 Music Videos of all time list. Number 1 was always a toss up between Thriller and Sledgehammer, but then again there was no Madonna Vogue video yet or a Nirvana.
Yeah how Thriller isn’t number 1 or even number 2 is not making sense for me.
the writers are not Genx or older, is my guess. They didn’t feel the power of release date on the World.
That makes sense. I sometimes forget to factor in that I’m old. lol
Every list needs Take On Me.
There’s always someone angry because their reading skills are poor. Check again!
lmao reading skills, sorry i zipped through the list bc i was at work and didn’t have the time to dedicate to each slide. my point still remains, being outside the top 10 is stupid the top 5 is just petty BS.
TRUE! for Thriller, definitely way more relevant and affected the world way more than Sledgehammer
Im sorry, did they seriously not put the Johnny Cash Hurt video on the list? Fuck off with that noise.
They’ve definitely got a Country blind spot. Reba’s got some great videos, and so does Garth Brooks, though he apparently doesn’t allow any of his stuff online. Shania and The (Dixie) Chicks too.
Reba and Shania have some really solid videos yeah. Its just, umm, Pitchfork ranked Hurt as the greatest music video ever made. That seems like a bizarre omission. Like putting together a best Country Song list and excluding Walk the Line level.
I’ll bet the SPR3 guy is going to lose his shit when he realizes the opportunities that this article provides.
I’m surprised at the lack of any OK Go on this list.Be it the one with the treadmills, or the one with the Heath Robinson machine, or the one in the weightless-arcing plane interior, or the one with the dogs, or the one that’s filmed at high speed over a couple of seconds, or the one with all the printers, or the one with, or the one with… they keep coming up with incredibly original videos, and I salute them for it.
I hear what your saying, but those all kind felt more like viral stunts than music videos if you catch my drift.
That distinction feels more like a function of the era in which they were made, than of the content itself. And most of them are more entertaining than at least a few of the ones on this list.More missing entries:
This Is America – Childish Gambino
I Want Love – Elton John (the one with RDJ lipsyncing around an empty house acting his little heart out)
Retox – Fatboy Slim
“That distinction feels more like a function of the era in which they were made”I disagree and think its exactly why they have been mostly forgotten. The viral aspect of their videos became a bigger draw than the bands music in their specific case. To the point where a lot of people forgot they were even a band and not a youtube stunt group.
This is America was definitely a powerful video that should have replaced a few of the entries on this list. I was surprised to see Sledgehammer on there. It was a subpar song and a relatively copycat video off of Land of Confusion.
Sledgehammer came well before land of confusion, and it was one of the era’s most popular videos by far. The hate for it all over these comments is nonsensical.
Any list like this is doomed to have things missed. That said, Thriller should be #1 easily. The thing is basically a movie and was probably the biggest “event” of all of these when it came out. It is sort of the “Star Wars” of music videos. I would say “A-ha” should be #2. The music is pure fluff, but that is probably one of the best known and most referenced videos in existence. And this is coming from a huge Peter Gabriel fan.
That video’s impact is undeniable, but I don’t know how anyone can continue to celebrate a disgusting pedophile.
He was acquitted. Respect the jury.
alleged. in the USA you are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
I didn’t realize we were talking about criminal proceedings. BTW, we weren’t.
I was 2 years old when Thriller came out so by the time I watched the VHS tape my parents had of the video (with the making of documentary) that video was already established as a classic, however I do remember the “Black or White” video premiere complete with the car smashing sequence and Simpsons appearance , and if I recall that video premiered across a bunch of network channels too. same for MC Hammer’s “2 Legit 2 Quit” music video , that was also a big event!
Don’t knock the song either. It holds up, and not just because the high rate of BPM makes it the perfect song for cardio workouts.
Disappointed that this video wasn’t on this list:
Outkast Roses Video > Outkast Hey Ya VideoAlso missing The Prodigy – Smack my B*tch Up
I feel like this list weighted video popularity too heavily. The fact that there isn’t a single OK Go video on here serves as evidence.
Hear, hear!
No Captain Beefheart “Ice Cream for Crow.” No Residents. No Devo.
Because all of their videos sucked. Simple as that.
Greatest means greatest. Popularity usually determines what most people think of as the greatest.
I’m fine with most of these being called “the greatest” in the sense that they generally have some combination of innovativeness/freshness/and popularity.Like, sure, OK GO videos I would regard as pretty amazing technical achievements, but I don’t they really have any cultural touchstone “weight” to them.Whereas something like “Smells Like Teen Spirit” I find to be just an uninteresting video as far as video go, but I can admit that the song and the video helped usher in a new cultural shift.But sometimes it’s hard to separate the power of the song from the power of the video. Like I probably would never even consider any Duran Duran video as a “greatest” given that stuff like “Girls on Film” is pretty much like 90% of what almost all video content was back in that day (band performing the song intercut with models prancing around).
Would be more accurate for this list to be titled most influential, which is much harder since MTV stopped playing videos. Possibly TikTok has a similar effect now, briefly, when music goes viral and people are exposed to something they never would have appreciated otherwise (minus the videos). Without something like MTV, everyone’s just watching their own favorite videos, which might be more innovative or artistic but not influential.
I know, right? I just don’t understand why popular music videos are so popular.
I don’t get why I’m Still Standing gets so much love.It’s so unremarkable. A bottom tier EJ song with people dancing on the beach.Yawn.
yeah, if you want a driving in a car video, i’d go for randy newman’s “i love L.A.”
Take On me would be #1 but solid list. I think Vogue gets too much love and would have like a prayer above it. Those of us old enough remember how big a deal video’s were in the 80’s. Not just MTV but Friday night tracks as well.
I mean “like a prayer” was basically a massive media event sponsored by Pepsi .Also because it contains zero Ali G , it is objectively NOT the best Madonna video.
Take on me should be the #1 80’s video period. I know many want MJ up there. Thriller IS fun and all, but TBH, it’s not THAT inventive or creative. Just a horror movie style long form music video.TOM did something completely creative, that took a lot of time to produce on a likely shoestring budget, the song is addictive as hell and it screams the era with the few fashion touches you see and the synth pop beat. One thing I always wondered however, why are there three different versions of the video? The way the band was highlighted was different in each. One had them animated in a moving tracking shot that looked pretty cool, one where it was just shots of them with no pencil effects, and IIRC one that was a little of both.
Where’s the Pointer Sisters video with the pubes?
For that matter, where’s Sesame Street’s Pointer Sisters video for 1-2-3-4, 5, 6-7-8-9, 10, 11-12? The animation with the marble rolling round the freaky psychedelic numberscape shaped multiple generations.
No: Pearl Jam- Jeremy, Soundgarden-Black Hole Sun, Men at Work- Down Under, Faith No More- Falling to Pieces, Metallica- Unforgiven, Marilyn Manson- Sweet Dreams, Johnny Cash- Hurt, OK Go- Upside Down Insite Out, Crash Test Dummies- Mmmm, M.C. Hammer- Can’t Touch This, White Stripes- Seven Nation Army, RHCP- Under the Bridge, Coolio- Gangster’s Paradise, Soulfly- Prophecy, Nine Inch Nails- Head Like a Hole, Eagle-Eye Cherry- Save Tonight, INXS- The Gift, Prodigy- No Good, Kylie Minogue- Can’t Get You Out Of My Head, R.E.M.- Electrolyte…
I’ll also chuck in a shout for Tonight, Tonight by Smashing Pumpkins.
Oooh yeah that’s a great one.
Good call!
Fuck you for dredging those demon monstrosities out of my subconscious where I thought I’d successfully buried them.(Also, have a star)
Not a fan of Spitting Image then ? (the UK political comedy show that used those latex puppets , plus! The Ronald Regan puppet is voiced by Chris Barrie , who voiced him on the SI show and later on played Rimmer in cult UK sci fi show Red Dwarf)
Just glad you didn’t pick the video for “Illegal Alien.” You can find the link on YouTube if necessary. I won’t post it.
I have a memory of seeing the video exactly one time. There’s a lot to unpack there.
It’s a not much fun.
“Owner of a Lonely Heart” really ought to be on this list.
Yes!
Oh I love that. It pre-empts the Yo La Tengo video by a decade with the “hold on there” concept
The 45 of this single was the first piece of music I ever owned myself.
I love this damn song. Also, there was a documentary on CNN maybe about MTV and Questlove used “Owner of a Lonely Heart” as the example of the kind of music he would have never have heard as a kid if it weren’t for MTV and how it blew his mind.
It was also a pretty good re-boot for Yes. Jon Anderson came back after leaving after Tormato.
yeah good point. gotta watch the whole thing though. that rooftop scene has pre-Matrix vibes, I wonder if they lifted it. great song too. never got old. prog rock got a bad rap where Yes was truly unique.
No Weird Al, Radiohead, Bjork, Gorillaz, Foo Fighters (Everlong), Johnny Cash (Hurt), Kylie Minogue, Robyn.
A few of these seem to be here because it was the first glimpse of an artist that would be huge and not necessarily because it’s an amazing music video (Baby One More Time)
Also needs to be said this list is anti-puppet
Agreed.
I actually have a lot of good feelings for that song , but I remember the NME(Or possibly Sounds or MM) review of it described it as the “aural equivalent of a headache”, which is my second favourite line in a music review after “ If psychedelic drugs list highly on your list of things to do , you’ll love King Missile”. for Detachable Penis.
The greatest music video ever made is actually a fragrance ad. Weird, but I’ve watched it so many times. Probably the best thing I’ve seen Margaret Qualley in.
I demand justice for Green Jelly.Also, there could be a case for a few different Queen videos to make the cut, like:“Bohemian Rhapsody” (early and iconic)“I Want To Break Free” (just plain great, banned by MTV for—clutches pearls—crossdressing)“The Days of Our Lives” (you’d be hard pressed to find a more powerful image in a music video than a dying Freddie Mercury basically saying goodbye to his fans)
“I Want To Break Free” (just plain great, banned by MTV for—clutches pearls—crossdressing)
That doesn’t seem possible.
I’m not saying you’re wrong (cause I don’t think you are), but weren’t Bowie and Boy George dancing around in dresses around then?
And it was campy, Pythonesque, crossdressing that’s been shown on TV forever. I know I’ve seen bandmembers dressed up like the mom in other videos.
I guess maybe they were considered too gay to be seen crossdressing by impressionable kids, but Bowie and George didn’t exactly present as straight.
By the time MTV came around in the early ‘80s, Reagan was in, the Moral Majority was on the rise, and Bowie had moved toward a somewhat less androgynous public image. There was a lot of hand-wringing from MTV during that period since they were (then) a fledgling network that had to be concerned about what would play to “Middle America” (see also: their historically unfortunate aversion towards videos by Black artists, something specifically called out by Bowie).Personally, I think they were just freaked out at how good Roger Taylor’s legs looked in that skirt. Yowza!
see also: their historically unfortunate aversion towards videos by Black artistsI forgot about that.Also hard to believe, but impossible to deny.
I Want to Break Free wasn’t a hit in the US. I don’t know if MTV would have played the video more if it had been, or if it would have been a hit if MTV had played the video more, but that might be part of the issue.
Yeah, considering this was one of the first videos MTV played, I don’t think cross-dressing was a dealbreaker.
I think by that point in 84 there was a lot of bands making videos so MTV could be more choosy as to what was going into to heavy rotation. I remember seeing Radio Ga Ga on there.
You’ve got to be kidding me. Mr. Krinkle not being on here is an absolute disgrace. 90% of this list is not on this level.
Now that you mention Primus, “Wynona’s Big Brown Beaver” would probably make my top 50 list as well.
Primus SUCKS!
I get that this list is not going to work, so I will take this opportunity to say I kind of miss music videos. I had MTV classic for awhile and would leave it on in the background and it was fun revisiting some stuff I never would have sought out on my own. I have Vevo now and its just not the same – some deeper cuts and different blocks that should be fine in theory, but missing the familiarity of the MTV stuff.I’m not even mad that MTV is no longer for me, it’s just sad to see something I enjoyed in my youth (and what had a giant cultural footprint) be reduced to 24 hours of Ridiculousness, Jersey Shore redux (look at them live normal lives and pretend to have drama for about 5 minutes a week! thrilling!) and whatever Paramount/Viacom needs to hype that week. Things change, I get that, but that still bums me out a bit. I will now go back to shaking my fist at the clouds.
There was even a period where yeah they weren’t showing as many music videos but they were showing weird cartoons and shit that still felt kinda transgressive and odd. But they just kept flattening and finding more efficient ways to fill space. The market wins again.
Hot For Teacher is the greatest video of all time.
Yuck. I’d pick Rhythm Nation by Janet Jackson as number one. Word Crimes by Weird Al Yankovic didn’t make this list, but I thought the animation was genius. And Paula Abdul’s Forever Your Girl gave us teeny weeny Elijah Wood in his first filmed performance, so that should have been here, too.
Agreed, and Just a Gigolo should also be on this list. If Duran Duran can appear twice, so can Diamond Dave.
This is total nitpicking but calling Petty’s ‘’Don’t Come Around Here No More’’ a ‘minor-key meditation’ feels like a stretch.. Esp since the song is set in the key of F-major and almost solely contains major chords.
I watched a doc where Tom Petty admitted hating making videos for his hits. He especially singled out the one on this list for being nonsensical. He marveled at the (lack of)relevance of the Alice theme to the content of the song. He just didn’t get it. Personally I’d pick the post-apocalyptic “You Got Lucky” over this one. And a much better song.
Yeah, it’s a well-shot video with high production values, but it’s thematically irrelevant to the song and has no real narrative drive of its own.
How dare you expect musical literacy from a website that purports to analyze music?!
The Algorithm felt that “Major-key meditation” was 65% less likely to occur as a word-grouping. Don’t argue with The Algorithm.
Tom Scharpling is still remaking that Yo La Tengo video to this day
Huge miss not including any Bjork on here, especially the work she did with Michel Gondry. She really innovated in this space and the medium.
Also Alright by Kenrick Lamar is one of the most beautiful music videos shot in the last decade. Surrealism at its best.
Couldn’t be bothered to actually go through the whole list, but NO BJORK?!? Blasphemy!
If you didn’t go through the whole list, then how do you know she’s not on it?
if you want innovators in this space, where the heck are Devo and The Residents? Laurie Anderson?
All is Full of Love
Only You
Turn Down for What
Michel Gondry’s video for this Kylie song is amazing too.
This was one of the coolest music videos at the time. I’m guessing the author of this list never saw it.
“Army Of Me” is so fuckin cool.
Adding my own glaring omission:
Shocked to see this one didn’t make their cut.
Fun fact Weird Al’s Smells Like Nirvana has the same janitor walking through the video, as Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Cradle of Love was pretty iconic
Agreed!
That came out right as I was hitting puberty. “Iconic” is definitely a word to use.
It was indeed. Because Billy Idol had been in a motorcycle accident that left him unable to stand without crutches, director David Fincher had to alter the concept of the video so he could shoot him only from the waist up.
I’d have Thriller at #1, Take On Me and #2, and somewhere in there would be Just by Radiohead. But there can never be any definitive version of this kinda thing.
Glad to see ‘Sledgehammer’ at #1; back when MTV would do their ‘Top 100 Videos of All Time’ countdown marathons, that video was usually at or near the peak.
Agree with others that Weird Al should be on this list somewhere; he’s as integral to MTV as Michael Jackson and Madonna.
“lead singer Jay Kay, who glides through the video, dancing on a series of imperceptible moving sidewalks.”I thought the trick was that that the set and camera was moved around Jay Kay, basically on wheels. There’s not moving sidewalks involved; it’s a concrete floor.
Came here to say this! The writer must not have watched enough pop-up video back in the day.
Sledgehammer is a cool video but the song itself, along with Big Time, just gets on my every nerve. Can’t. Stand. It. And I say this as a general Gabriel fan.Anyway, the video deserves to be top 10 for its cool production approach but any list that doesn’t have Thriller at #1 is highly suspect. Speaking of Jackson, I’m certain we can replace at least one of these with Weird Al’s Fat.
Where the fuck is Tonight Tonight?
This is some real “VH1 circa 2002″ style content here on the ol’ 2023 AV Club.
I know I’m greyed on AV Club so this likely won’t get seen but it needs to be said:You’re wrong with Thriller. Set aside Michael as a monster of a human being, Thriller has to be in the number one spot. You’re too young to understand the impact of this video. I was 13 when Thriller landed. The night the video premiered, we stopped what we were doing to watch it. We planned the week around the launch. It generated news coverage in the lead up to, and in the aftermath of the premier. We talked about it for weeks – hell for months – before and after. Thriller landed in 1983 as the excesses of yuppie culture were starting to skyrocket. At $900,000 in production costs, it was the most expensive video at the time and remained so for years. It spawned a “making of” documentary that was so popular it was regularly unavailable at video rental stores. Thriller was as important to us as New Coke/Coke Classic and Ralph Lauren Polo. A year later we’d get Don Johnson’s white sport coats, and baby Beemers. Eddie Murphy would reference Michael’s Triller jacket in Beverly Hills Cop. The video (and the album it came from) crossed racial and cultural boundaries. No other video before, and none after have had such a profound effect on North American media habits, and none have represented their time and the power of their artist, nearly as well as Thriller did.
Probably very difficult to appreciate the impact of this, or music video in general, if you weren’t there. Having said that, the 1983 release that probably got the most repeat plays from my friends and me (although I don’t think it filtered down to us until a year or two later) was one I don’t recall ever seeing a video from, the Violent Femmes 1st album.
Thriller was MTV and music for years. The album sold 34 million copies in the U.S. There has never been anything like it before or since and never will be again. 14% of the entire population of the United States at that time bought this record, and the Thriller video had a lot to do with it. I have no idea what happened in his life to make him the way he was, but I do know that pre-illness Michael Jackson, there’s never been anything like him. Ever. And he was acquitted, so I always just respect the jury on that. They saw more than the public saw. If they said not guilty, I believe that. He clearly was a troubled man, though, in his later life. If he did do anything, he’s been answering to God for it since he died in 2009. And if he didn’t, I hope he has peace now. Don’t know. But Michael Jackson in the 80s was music itself.
Take On Me was the greatest the year it was released & has been the greatest ever since – holds up well 4 decades later. So take your #5 ranking and…..Even tho Money beat it for the VMA that year, it won the ‘fans’ vote, showing early on that fans can know better than the ‘experts’. Good thing there was a list to check instead of having to go thru 50 slides.
Yeah, you have Bowie on there, but not even the best, or 2nd or 3rd best Bowie video. The videos from ★ were definitely his best work, specifically the title track.
I’ll always have a soft spot for “The Stars (Are Out Tonight)” from the prior album, in which Bowie allows himself to be out-Bowied by a bunch of non-Bowies, starring Tilda Swinton.
If we’re talking about artists being out performed by dopplegangers (from previous videos), can we add this Actually all her videos from that era were pretty damn good . I mean the (Pre House , post Blackadder )Hugh Laurie and John Malkovich Broken Glass has to count for something:
“Ashes to Ashes” might be the worst Bowie video. I don’t think this list has anything to do with quality so much as just being a straight listing of the most popular or well remembered music videos of all time. In what universe is the video to “..Baby One More Time” anything but a completely undistinguished face in the crowd of “pretty girl dances and lip syncs” videos that came out that year? Is it “iconic” because the teenage girl is wearing slightly less clothes than was typical?
I totally agree.
listen i know the song and band im about to state are not widely known but kenna’s video for hell bent absolutely kills mealso missing:sigur ros – any of them but particularly glosoli and svefn g englar or vidrar vel til loftarasasaradiohead – paranoid android , fade out or justUNKLE – rabbit in your headlights
Where the fuck is Herbie Hancock’s Rockit?
Came to say exactly this! Genesis’ Land of Confusion also missing.
Good call, and I’ll trade you “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)“ with samples from Herbie Hancock’s “Cantaloupe Island.” Somehow the visuals just make me happy.
Huge ommission. HUGE. I rember being a kid when it first came out and MTV played the literal shit out of it. It was awesome, a bit scary, other worldly, and probably was the first time more than a few suburban white kids got their first taste of scratching.I fell in love with good beats that day. I still remember Hancock on the Grammy’s where he had dancers pretending to be robots and suddenly starting to roll some classic breakdancing. Herbie owned the room that night.
TLC or Peter Gabriel???
Many many many good videos others have referenced, one I want to throw out there is Justin Timberlake’s Say Something. It’s just so beautifully done.
How do you not include Metallica “One”?!??!!
I did not get cable until my first apartment in 1992. My dad did not want to pay for cable. Therefore, I usually got my video fix at friend’s houses, V66 and Friday Night Videos.And still I’ve seen all those pre-1992 video, pre-1992 many times…
OMG V66. I watched WAY more of that and Video Jukebox than I ever did MTV.
I was all prepared to say why isn’t D’Angelo on this list, and there he is. Color me pleasantly surprised. Also glad to see that “You Belong With Me” is not on here. Kanye was rude, but in this instance he was damn right.The number 1 is obviously wrong, though.
Some spicy hot takes here.
I know it’s a minority opinion , but while certainly a catchy song, “Put A Ring On It” is kind of a boring video.
So happy to see Peter Gabriel here. Anything by Gaga, Annie Lennox and Missy Elliot is going to be brilliant. I think several of them even shared the same director.
Would have liked to have seen Weird Al’s Amish Paradise. The reverse shots are oddly sexy. Yankovic directed it himself and it’s rich in detail and funny af.I’d also like to note that Dire Strait’s Money for Nothing (with Sting) took the music video world by storm as it was one of the first to use computer animated human characters.
I’m really hoping noone these days catches the original version of Money for Nothing which features the word f*ggot.Basically Straits singer Mark Knofler was writing the lyrics from the perspective of a rough blue collar worker talking about rock stars , and used the same kind of language (well a toned down for 1980s TV version of it), and used it to describe the guys watching an effeminate pop star who’s made it huge , “that little __ has his own jet airplane, that little __ he’s a millionaire” with grudging respect. Supposedly a lot of the lyrics were based on a real conversation Knofler had with a guy in a TV store when a hair metal band music video came on the stores TVs.Since the early 90s though they’ve pretty much disowned the lines and dont play them live. As it is , its something that wasn’t meant to be offensive and written from a certain persons point of view , but aged badly .Same thing as The Pogues Fairy Tale of New York.
Yes to everything. I had entirely forgotten the slur as I was mostly attuned to the “money for nothing part” (as well as Sting) and the visuals. My SO played in bands all of his adult life and had to hear this kind of thing very often. They didn’t play much Dire Straits, though, lol
pearl jam’s “jeremy” really should be in there somewhere. the first time i saw that one, it just stopped me in my tracks.
Radiohead, Weird Al, Bjork, and OK Go have all been mentioned, but I definitely think Tool’s video for Sober has to make this list. Weird and clever!
I get why Teen Spirit and Nothing Compares are the ones that belong on this list, but I thought Mandinka and In Bloom were better videos.I laughed through the whole video the first time I saw In Bloom, and both videos just make me happy.Did Weezer copy Nirvana? I think Nirvana was first, but I’m not sure.
That’s about right though Weapon of Choice should have been higher and the correct Prince vid is the extended cut of Party Man.
All the Small Things by Blink-182 was pretty good send up to all the pop starlets/boy bands circa 2000.
Day n’ Night- Kid Cudi. (Genius subtext, genius video). Tell Me When to Go E-40 (mood). Oh So Quiet (OR ANY Bjork), You’re never going to win with a list like this, (as others pointed out), but certain kinds of videos are very underrepresented. I suppose it’s all click-bate and good web metrics for the home team when we argue though.
Where in fuck’s sake is This is America, by Childish Gambino?
That clip is bottomlessly mesmerizing. I NEVER watch it just once at a time.
Am I the only one who got to “November Rain” and thought “oh .. .ffs”?
Hurt – Jonny Cash #1.
Didn’t expect this to make the list but feel compelled to shout out Pavement’s video for Gold Soundz. Filmed at Fashion Island shopping center in Newport Beach, CA.
Oh wait, and how did “Lucas With the Lid Off” not make the cut?! Maybe because it’s not on Youtube? Anyway, this video was the most amazing thing I’d ever seen when it came out and it led me to Michel Gondry’s other films.
I can’t believe you don’t have Genesis – Land of Confusion on this list. Probably the most iconic MTV video of the 80’s
I’m guessing the person or people did this list based on basic research and didn’t actually live through MTV’s 80s and 90s period before it turned into a pop culture channel. For pure music videos, Land of Confusion should have definitely been on there. Thriller is always #1. Smells like Teen Spirit should have been two because it was THE thing to watch in the 90s. At one point, MTV played it 24-hours a day for weeks. And some teenagers watched it 24-hours a day for weeks.Probably a younger person. I guess it’s not their fault they don’t remember that era, though. Billie Jean was ranked much too low also. That is the video that made MTV a household name across the country, the first true iconic video made on there.You could argue that The Real Slim Shady was the last “big thing” on MTV and should have been higher. MTV made every generation’s top stars in the 80s and 90s, and to a lesser degree 2000s. It was bigger than the internet.
TURN DOWN FOR WHAT was turned down for what?????
I hate to be all “um, actually,” but, um, actually, it’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)“, not “made of these.”
This legit blew my mind when I first found out like a year ago.
This really is a very questionable list. No Bjork at all (despite her probably having the most artistically interesting collection of music videos of any artist). Michel Gondry only represented by Fell in Love with a Girl (could have been Come Into My World, or Everlong, or Around the World). No Chemical Brothers videos. No Coldcut videos. Nothing by Future Sound of London. Only one by Chris Cunningham. Only one video from Warp Records. No Busta Rhymes videos.
It kind of feels like an assemblage of videos that were popular on MTV rather than necessarily interesting videos.
A Random List of Videos You’ve Seen!
List is trash because I don’t see “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails.Also, nothing by TOOL.Also, only one Chris Cunningham video (“Come to Daddy”), so no “Windowlicker” or “Rubber Johnny.” And no “All is Full of Love” by Björk.
Yeah, the fact that Sober wasn’t on this list feels wrong. It was entirely manual stop-motion.
Tom Waits. “In the Neighborhood”. That is all.
There is a plot to “Bad Romance,” [but t]he particulars are so convoluted that it’s impossible to follow
She is a reluctant and murderous fem-bot with flamethrower-boobies who was put into hibernation, but someone greedy woke her up and sold her. When you see her make the shape of a gun with her hand, that means she is planning to kill someone. When you see her spread her fore-arms and arch her back, that means she’s trying to fire her flamethrower-boobies. It only works at the end, when she torches the guy.Ahem. I like the song a lot, okay? I’ve watched that video a fair few times.
I feel like a video missing from this list is Depeche Mode’s “Wrong.” And it’s not even a Corbijn-directed one. So unsettling.
“This”. Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)This.
They rhymed “this” with “disagree”? That’s some Steve Miller-level songwriting right there.
They did, yis.Actually, thanks for pointing that out. I had never really thought of the rhyme in particular (huge Eurythmics fan, but other songs were far more captivating to me). I was mainly just so freaking annoyed that they’d get the SONG TITLE WRONG, when it’s right there, everywhere the song is named. And I know she draws the word out into two syllables like “theeyis”, but she DOESN’T pronounce it “these”. There’s clearly a hard “s” at the end!And in conclusion, it’s printed right there in the title everywhere the title is printed.Also, it’s “Eurythmics”, not “The Eurythmics”, but that’s usually correct these days.
Don’t be such a pompatus!
In their defence , she’s pretty much singing these, and a lot of people wrongly but pretty understandingly call it that . Its a bit like Florence and the machines (who I love so this isn’t a criticism) habit of pronouncing words really weirdly so they’ll fit into a song .
Relax was banned because, in an era when even Boy George and George Michael somehow claimed to be straight, the video was overtly gay. That didn’t stop me from seeing it…somehow, and it’s responsible for a few of my first big-boy-dreams. That rubber tank top. geez Louise, my glasses are fogging up just thinking about it.
Big lack of Chemical Brothers videos .I mean Michael Gondrys nutso no special effects video for Let forever beOr the choreography of GoOr the horror (and comedy) of Free YourselfOr the ..just EVERYTHING of wide open.
I hadn’t seen that “Let Forever Be” video until about 2 years ago, and yeah, it’s an absolutely wonderful one that instantly became one of my favorite music videos. Michel Gondry is truly a master of the form.
Devo was at the vanguard of music videos, it’s a glaring omission not one is mentioned here. Instead there’s Cindy Lauper and other dreck on the list. And I’m sorry, Sledgehammer as number 1? Really?
Cyndi Lauper was beyond huge in the 1980s. That video was in constant rotation. She was like a pop culture phenomenon, she worked with WWF wrestling, did commercials, and wrote songs for Goonies. For about three years, she was everywhere.Agree about Sledgehammer. Shouldn’t have even made the list.
I remember it a bit differently back then , being a non American , since I dont remember the Goonies tie in video(s) and the WWF stuff wasnt really known over here in Europe (at least until later in the decade), so she was more about “Girls just want to have fun” and “True colors”.Sledgehammer was just CONSTANTLY on TV and MTV Europe when it started in about 87/88
Didn’t Michael Jackson have a “Sledgehammer”-style section from the “Moonwalker” music video movie? (I don’t feel like looking it up.)
Devo should have been on this list but no need to shit on the iconic Cyndi Lauper and an absolute classic of a video.
Sledgehammer was a damn good video , at least for the time, and deserves praise (I mean there was NOTHING like it at the time) , although I was always more impressed by Digging in the dirt later .Also Big time!
No “This is America”? I feel like that fact that so many people saw it and talked about it way past the moment of music videos even being particularily relevant counts in its favor.
If any modern video made it, that one should have been it. It’s sad to see people don’t appreciate the power of music videos anymore.
It’s a nitpick, but the floors were NOT moving in Jamiroquoi’s “Virtual Insanity” video: the walls were gliding to give the illusion that it was the floor that was moving.
Well this certainly was a list of 50 videos.
ETA: I get it now, the article was not a list of the 50 greatest music videos, it was a prompt for the commenters to generate such a list.
Yep, pure SEO stunt. It’s one reason I read AV Club twice a year. They’ve spiraled into 50 slides in a slideshow (always fun) and basically begging people to write their content for them.
well yes . In the old days they’d actually poll the readers with an article asking for them , then correlate the results (and their own) into a list . I guess its easier this way.
What can be called music videos essentially are as old as movies with somund. So once again, this site has someone compiling a list when they don’t have the basic knowledge to do more than a C- job. LOTS of mediocre mainstream crap is included here, and this really missed the job of showing that music videos can be an actual art form instead of being essentially commercials for dreck.
You picked the wrong Beyoncé (“Formation”), forgot OK Go, Bjork and Kendrick Lamar and somehow missed this modern classic:
The fact that Massive Attack’s not on this list tells me that a Millennial Yank compiled this list. Petals.Why is this iconic? Because it was filmed in the one take. No gimmicks – other than the single take – no OTT performances. And the song is beyond anything that artists come out with these days (to the best of my knowledge it’s only been covered once, by Tina Turner no less).That’s the Voice of God right there – Liz Fraser. That alone makes it worthy of any top fifty list (Fraser was the vocalist for Cocteau Twins and if you don’t know who they were, you need to stop getting music choices from TikTok and Instacunts) but the video was…creepy for what it was. It’s not CGI – it was a foetus made from rubber and seeing that, half cut and stoned after a night at the clubs? Yeet.And then there’s another shocker – no The Chemical Brothers. The Chemical Brothers always push the envelope with their videos. I mean, fancy a video of skeletons getting boned? Too much? Maybe a nice train trip?Or – and the fuss made over this film with all the triggered wee twits claiming they had a “phobia” of holes (god help them if they have to blow their nose) – maybe something utterly beautiful?(And yes, if you’re a Crazy Rich Asians fan, that is Araminta, aka my favourite character from the film (because she was nuts and utterly adorable))
I’d go with “Protection” for the best MA video. And yeah, it should be on the list.
Thanks for this.I had forgotten how much I love Star Guitar.
I love Wide open , (both the song and the video) and never saw CRA , so I’ll have to check it out .Also I mentioned it elsewhere , but if we’re going with Chemicals ,most of their videos could fill list this , but I always have a soft spot for Free yourself (which includes an Alan Partridge voice cameo!) (Its way funnier than a robot apocalypse video deserves to be , especially the ending credits scene, and the “wish me luck , I’m on me bike” line.)
Nope, couldn’t be a millennial, it’s way too heavy on the 80s for that.
This Is America
Gorillaz belong in this conversation
No Tool….. meh
I’m not a big fan of the song, but I’m surprised this isn’t here
freeseotool
Oops, wrong George Michael video!
Another David Fincher video.
Did not remember that, thanks. Did know that it had been shot by Mike Southon, who was huge in music videos. This video couldn’t have been made by any two others. That whole crew was crazy, from stylist to lighting to makeup and on.
Oh my gosh, I couldn’t agree more! Freedom! ‘90 was innovative and still lasts the test of time.Confused on why Thriller wasn’t #1.
Not my personal favorite but, yes, Thriller had to be number one.Maybe you had to be there to see all the callbacks in Freedom 90, which only made it so much better.
There’s only ever been one good George Michael video:
well now my eyes are bleeding
Some hip hop contenders:The absolutely brilliant filmed-in-reverse Drop from The Pharcyde:A video-length long take from this Xzibit banger:Criminally overlooked social commentary:
How is Every Breath You Take by The Police not on this list? And not in the Top 10 for that matter? Most of those other stylish black and white videos on this list wouldn’t exist without this classic paving the way.
Agreed. It’s an iconic video from the height of the era, accompanying one of the greatest songs of any era.
Eh, it probably gave one of the hacks “the ick”.
Wow–the pioneer music videos actually kept their places near the top of the list. I was not expecting that.
Notable Omissions: Start Me Up. Rolling Stones. Looks like it was made on a $100 budget, and Mick kept $99. Subterranean Homesick Blues – Dylan. Lucas with the Lid Off – Lucas Secon. Minor one hit wonder from the 90s, but amazing video.
I would replace The Real Slim Shady (which is pretty much a retread of the better My Name Is) with 2pac’s California Love. That’s the video that really took hip-hop to the blockbuster height it’s at today. Also, where’s NIN’s Closer? That one is an all-timer and highly influential to so many videos.
A decent list, but you’re missing at least one entry from Weird Al (Amish Paradise or Word Crimes are pretty incredible) and Prodigy’s “Smack My Bitch Up” has to be top 10. I saw that video when it aired on MTV in 1997- they played a grand total of like 2-3x before pulling it off the air, and it is jaw-dropping in its rawness. Really killer video.
I feel like this is missing Whip It by Devo and Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz.
All I knew was that Sledgehammer better be #1.
Sledgehammer is not even the best Peter Gabriel video. That goes to Mercy Street, which is maybe so extraordinary that the designation as a mere “video” is beneath it:
Lists like these are always built for clicks, but not all of these are strictly ranked according to the video, sometimes it’s the song or “the moment,” which sort of ignores the original thesis.ANYWAY, 40 years later, the #1 music video of all time remains Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and everyone else is playing for second place, no matter what this list claims. I still maintain #2 of all time is Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia” but Madonna/Peter Gabriel make a pretty good case, too!
Y’all need to watch more videos.
Childish Gambino – This is America.Annie Lennox – Walking on Broken Glass
It feels weird to mention that Sinead O’Connor was lip synching, as every singer shown singing the song in every professionally produced music video is lip synching.
Elton John’s – I’m Still Standing is also where you can see a young Bruno Tonioli prominent and having a ball among the dance cast.
Any list of music videos that don’t have “Thriller” as #1 (and omits “Smooth Criminal”, “Scream”, and “Beat It” entirely), is a fucked list. And good God, “Sledgehammer” is both an overrated song and overrated video (not to mention that MJ did the stop motion so much better, two years later, in “Leave Me Alone”)
Edit: And where in the entire fuck is TLC “No Scrubs”? That was by far the biggest, most popular video of the TRL-era, and you don’t have a “Single Ladies” without a “No Scrubs”.
Not a single Radiohead video? Not even “Just”??
This list seems remarkably of and for a particular demographic.
I mean, no music videos in the past 10 years?
I agree with a lot of these videos standing out. Even if some of the songs were not great, the videos impacted their importance. I will throw out two other options to consider. Intergalactic might not be Sabotage, but it has a lot of fun of the 1950’s era of Japanese sci fi. Beastie Boys could create some fun and clever videos during their peak.Another one I am more surprised that did not get considered on the list was Let Forever Be by the Chemical Brothers. I believe Michel Gondry directed it and made some memorable music videos in the late 90’s. The camera effects on the video were top notch whether or not you are on your ‘trip’.
I realize that the Beatles’ music videos are in many ways less sophisticated than most of the ones on the list, but they did basically invent the genre. In my opinion, their video of “I am the Walrus” should be on this list, if only because it pretty much proves the truth of the saying, “If you remember the ‘60s, you weren’t there.”And how could this list not have included Devo’s “Whip It”?
P.S. If we’re allowed to nominate Politically Incorrect Videos, then I’d have to put Nancy Sinatra’s “These Boots Are Made for Walking” on the list.
Johnny Cash’s “Hurt” isn’t on here? That’s just silly.“In July 2011, the music video was named one of “The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos” by Time. It was ranked the greatest music video of all time by NME.”
I think what’s my age again / blink-182 is top 50!
Not doing a 50 freaking slide slideshow…
All of these should be in the top 50. Any of these are better than I’m Still Standing or Common People. Aphex Twin??? And putting Taylor Swift in there just because she’s currently the #1 superstar in the world is lame. Paul Simon – You Can Call Me Al
Childish Gambino – This is America2Pac – California LoveThe Replacements – Can’t Hardly WaitLisa Loeb – StayPearl Jam – JeremyOK Go – Here It Goes AgainGeorge Michael – Freedom 90 (better than Faith)Aerosmith – Cryin’Smashing Pumpkins – 1979Dr. Dre/Snoop Dog – Nuthin’ But a G ThangMetallica – Enter Sandman
I realize this will be buried in the grays, but:
Expected to see Smooth Criminal and Beat it on this list
For something that’s SEO nonsense, I’ll admit I learned something – I’d never heard of the Girls on Film uncensored version, and with minimal searching it can still be seen pretty easily. I can easily see why the BBC refused it, but what the article leaves out is that it was filmed before MTV and was directly aimed at the nightclub market, so it’s almost a different category.
That said, even if it had been, I’m not sure it deserves to be on the list given the rationale for including it doesn’t hold a candle to the other scandalous video of 1981, Sex Dwarf, from a group nearly as big at the time, Soft Cell. (And yes, you can find it online pretty easily nowadays as well.)
Unlike the former, the BBC actually played it…once. And unlike Girls on Film which might get through today, I don’t think it would.
First, the absence of Smashing Pumpkins’ Tonight, Tonight from this list is a damn crime. I don’t care what anyone’s feelings are about the band, but that video in particular is unarguably cool as hell. Similarly, one could argue that Tool’s video for Sober belongs on here just as badly.And while this one may be just me, REM’s Everybody Hurts video deserves a spot as well. There’s something about the stark desperation in the reporter’s voice at the end as she’s describing the fact that a highway full of people got up out of their cars and just utterly vanished that just crawled into my head and has rented space since I saw it way back when.
I was mad at myself before I even clicked on this listicle because I knew what it would be: a mediocre list as clickbait for engagement. But I grew up on MuchMusic so I was powerless to resist.Anyway, Girls on Film and Faith are ridiculous to have on this list. Faith isn’t even in George Michael’s Top 5 videos; it’s a guy playing guitar next to a jukebox. I can see at least an argument for the rest, but these two were egregious.But the ones being overlooked?! Bjork, Busta Rhymes, Daft Punk, Aerosmith all being missed entirely is bonkers. Rockit, Sober, Black Hole Sun, Everything is Everything?? Work It isn’t in Missy Elliot’s top 5.Anyway, glad I could get this off my chest. Enjoy your engagement, herb.
I’m not clicking through 50 pages of ads but I’ll just say this; if Smack My Bitch Up by The Prodigy doesn’t make the cut then the entire list is invalid.
Smooth Criminal belongs in the top 10.
It’s worth noting that A-ha’s “Take On Me” video is a direct homage to 1982’s TRON … Instead of being sucked into a video game, the protagonist is sucked into a comic book. I am still in awe of the craft of this video today as I was back in the 80s.Also, “Nothing Compares 2 U” was so powerful, much to the credit of O’Connor’s emotional affectations and those big blue eyes and baby face. Watching it just now, I start crying about half way through the first third of the song.
I wish these would be headlined as personal or staff consensus lists. It is certainly not the definitive list.
It is missing:
Most glaring — Black Hole Sun, Soundgarden
Most deserving — Beautiful World, Devo
Most outlying — C’est comme ca, Les Rita Mitsouko
Incomplete list without “No Rain”
Kate Bush’s This Women’s Work should be there, if just for the genius section from 2.35 that shifts through several scenes in a single shot.
A favourite super-low-budget homemade affair, that also belongs on a list of great one-shot videos, is this one from Melbourne legends TISM. A handful of the bands in this are real, including the school band (from the school where members of TISM taught).
Why are you responding to every good video with your own BS? Do you really think this will sell your garbage? Grow up.
Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers should be much closer to #1.
WHERE is Jane’s Addiction’s “Been Caught Stealing?” I’m not even a huge fan of Jane’s Addiction but I love that song AND that video!
The greatest music video of all time is “The Wild Boys” by Duran Duran. Everybody knows that.
Lists like this are always idiotic. This one is no exception. For sure
there are some very good videos on this list, but as is often the case
there seems to be confusion between “popular” and “good.”
I really appreciated the writing and the judgement about the videos I am familiar with from the 80’s. Whatever you think about the medium, videos like ‘Walk This Way’ and ‘Change on Me’ were culturally important as well as beautiful. Thanks for getting it right.
Such a weird list. Not even Blind Melon’s “ No Rain”! That’s iconic. I’m also surprised that Nine Inch Nails with “ Closer” wasn’t on the list or even Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy”.
Missing Cannon Ball by the Breeders
Don’t disrespect Mr Loaf like this
I can think of a couple of videos that made their band’s carriers;THE CRANBERRIES, Zombieand
ALIEN ANT FARM, Smooth Criminal
Very glad to see Sabotage on here, and even so high up, as it’s always been one of my favorites. Two others that I have always loved, that didnt make the list: Californication, which was pretty revolutionary for 1999, and The Kids Aren’t Alright, which was just a fun video on top of me loving the song.
Red Hot Chili Peppers – Californication (Official Music Video) [HD UPGRADE] – YouTube
The Offspring – The Kids Aren’t Alright (Official Music Video) – YouTube
Where are the K pop videos?
Rooster- Alice in Chains
When I think of iconic 90s videos, I think of Blind Melon’s “No Rain” and Soul Asylum’s “Runaway Train”. Can’t believe neither one are on this list.
Wait a minute…. I don’t see Quiet Riot’s “Bang Your Head?” It was arguably the anthem for MTV’s “Headbanger’s Ball!” and where is Cinderella?!
Die Antwoord Fatty boom boom: could be on there, if the list makers and readers weren’t ethnocentric.
When you think about what “Losing my Religion” – the song and video together – was and what it did it is just mind-blowing. Mandolin minor chords + homoerotic take on GG Marquez short story -> briefly take over the world. In 1991! Madness. Has there ever been anything more wildly subversive just … walking around in the mainstream daylight.
The whole top 10 could be R.E.M.Hey guys, we’ve made back-to-back immortal records playing mandolin and piano. What should we do next?
lead singer Jay Kay, who glides through the video, dancing on a series of imperceptible moving sidewalks.There are no moving sidewalks in the video. They built a moving room and attached the camera to it. When it looks like he’s gliding, it’s the room and the camera itself that are moving, which is why he’s able to pull it off so seemingly gracefully. The furniture is held in place against the walls, and when it is released, it appears to also move.
I found “This is America” by Childish Gambino to be one of the most potent music videos I’ve seen. Certainly it is one of the best of recent times.
I guess we’re limiting this list to what played on American TV? Because many S Korean music videos are truly amazing. Check out Idol (BTS), Bang, Bang, Bang (Big Bang), Kill this Love (BlackPink), Blood, Sweat, and Tears (BTS), Daechwita (Agust D), and 100s more.
For once, I think this was actually a pretty good list, though definitely not perfect. I would have loved to have seen Janet Jackson’s Got ’til It’s Gone on the list and Björk’s It’s Oh So Quiet (though Weapon of Choice is more popular).
Not a single Björk video? No Bachelorette? All Is Full Of Love? Army Of Me?
Where is Bjork? Peter Gabriel’s terrifying Shock the Monkey? Boys of Summer. Faith No More’s Epic (I realize the video is mostly about Mike’s hair and fish torture, but still)? or Falling to Pieces? Groove is in the Heart would have been a more interesting choice than Girls Just Want to have Fun! U2’s The Fly? With or Without You? And, given the last year or so, Kate Bush’s Running Up that Hill, and even better, Cloudbusting, with Donald Sutherland as Wilhelm Reich and Kate as his son, Peter? There are lots of omissions in this list, but at least you didn’t make Thriller #1, as is usually the case with these lists.
There are some great videos here. There are few quite average – although for great and influential songs.
List really should include Coldplay – they had a few absolutely great videos, especially for their second and third albums. Also Rammstein – another band with a long list of awesome videos.But for me absolutely the best music video of all times is UNKLE – Rabbit in Your Headlights:
Find this list lacking; written more from a sociocultural than visceral standpoint. And/or the writers just don’t know that much about music. Mentioned out of necessity, in case no one else has: The Cramps/Garbageman, Tupac/California Love, Naughty By Nature/Hip Hop Hooray, Lene Lovich/Lucky Number (Lauper & Madonna both pale imitations); The Cramps/Human Fly (very old black/white footage); Iggy Pop “Bored,” PJ Harvey “50 Foot Queenie/Mansize”+, Madness/One Step Beyond, Blackstreet/No Diggity, Pixies/Here Comes Your Man/Monkey Gone/Planet of Sound+, House of Pain/Jump Around, Shoop/Salt-N-Pepa, Elvis Costello/Pump It UP, Watching The Detectives, The Gap Band/Party Train, Early In The Morning, Lauryn Hill/Doo-Wop (That Thing), Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock/It Takes Two, De La Soul/Me Myself & I…
The dudes flipping out because this doesn’t align with their personal take are fucking hilarious.
No Bjork! Amazing. Same old list, every time. I’d have liked to see the film Kate Bush made with Donald Sutherland for Cloudbusting on that list. It’s not every day someone writes a song/makes a short film about Wilhelm Reich and his little boy, Peter, and this was 1985, when most videos were pretty crude. Cloudbusting machine designed and fabricated by HR Giger, by the way.