Greatest Music Videos Ever Made

Michael Jackson – "Thriller"

A 14-minute mini-movie directed by John Landis that turned a pop song into a horror-movie event, complete with werewolf transformation and zombie choreography. It didn't just accompany the single, it became a cultural artifact sold on its own VHS release. Widely credited with leg

Year: 1983Director: John LandisReported Budget: $500,000Innovation: 10/10Cultural Influence: 10/10

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a-ha – "Take On Me"

The pencil-sketch rotoscoping that pulls the singer out of a comic book and into reality made this one of MTV's most unforgettable visual tricks. Steve Barron's blend of live action and animation was labor-intensive for its era and became instantly iconic. It's the video most peo

Year: 1985Director: Steve BarronReported Budget: $125,000Innovation: 9/10Cultural Influence: 9/10

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Nirvana – "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

A chaotic pep-rally-gone-wrong in a gray gymnasium captured the nihilism of Gen X better than any interview could. Samuel Bayer's low-budget grunge aesthetic helped push hair metal off MTV for good. The anarchic ending, with the band trashing their gear, became the visual shortha

Year: 1991Director: Samuel BayerReported Budget: $50,000Innovation: 8/10Cultural Influence: 10/10

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Madonna – "Vogue"

David Fincher shot a black-and-white homage to Old Hollywood glamour that also brought underground ballroom vogueing into the mainstream spotlight. Madonna's shape-shifting star power and the video's stark chiaroscuro lighting made it an instant fashion and dance touchstone. It r

Year: 1990Director: David FincherReported Budget: $1,000,000Innovation: 8/10Cultural Influence: 9/10

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Beyoncé – "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)"

Shot in stark black-and-white with a single unbroken dance routine, this video proved choreography alone could dominate global pop culture. The leotard-and-hand-wave became one of the most parodied and imitated dance sequences ever, from SNL to countless weddings. Jake Nava's min

Year: 2008Director: Jake NavaReported Budget: $250,000Innovation: 7/10Cultural Influence: 9/10

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Peter Gabriel – "Sledgehammer"

A stop-motion claymation marvel from Aardman Animations and the Brothers Quay, this video won more MTV Video Music Awards than any other. Gabriel's face morphing into fruit, dancing chickens, and surreal object animation set a new bar for what handmade visual effects could achiev

Year: 1986Director: Stephen R. JohnsonReported Budget: $250,000Innovation: 10/10Cultural Influence: 8/10

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Sinead O'Connor – "Nothing Compares 2 U"

A single unbroken close-up of O'Connor's face, tears included, stripped the music video down to its rawest emotional core. John Maybury's austere direction proved that vulnerability could be more powerful than spectacle. That single tear became one of the most replayed images in

Year: 1990Director: John MayburyReported Budget: —Innovation: 6/10Cultural Influence: 8/10

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OK Go – "Here It Goes Again"

Eight treadmills, one continuous take, and zero visible cuts turned a garage-band video into a viral sensation before 'viral' was even a common word. This scrappy, DIY choreography proved that YouTube-era creativity could rival any major-label budget. It's frequently cited as the

Year: 2006Director: Trish SieReported Budget: $10,000Innovation: 8/10Cultural Influence: 7/10

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Radiohead – "Just"

A man lies down on a London sidewalk and refuses to explain why, drawing a growing crowd until he finally whispers a secret that makes everyone else lie down too. Jamie Thraves never reveals what was said, leaving one of the most debated open endings in music video history. Its m

Year: 1995Director: Jamie ThravesReported Budget: —Innovation: 7/10Cultural Influence: 7/10

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Missy Elliott – "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)"

Hype Williams's fisheye lens and Missy's inflatable trash-bag suit created one of the most visually distinctive debuts in hip-hop history. The surreal, funhouse-mirror aesthetic broke from typical rap video conventions and announced Missy as a singular visual artist. It's still r

Year: 1997Director: Hype WilliamsReported Budget: —Innovation: 9/10Cultural Influence: 8/10

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Beastie Boys – "Sabotage"

Spike Jonze's loving parody of gritty 1970s cop shows, complete with fake mustaches and shaky handheld chases, turned a punk-rap anthem into a comedic action-movie homage. The mock-serious opening credits sequence became instantly quotable and endlessly referenced. It cemented Jo

Year: 1994Director: Spike JonzeReported Budget: $150,000Innovation: 8/10Cultural Influence: 8/10

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Daft Punk – "Around the World"

Michel Gondry choreographed five groups of dancers, each representing a different instrument, in perfect geometric loops through a single unbroken circular set. The precision of the concept mirrored the song's own looping structure in a way few videos have matched. It's held up a

Year: 1997Director: Michel GondryReported Budget: $300,000Innovation: 9/10Cultural Influence: 7/10

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Lady Gaga – "Bad Romance"

An avant-garde fashion nightmare of polar bear coats, alien contact lenses, and vodka-bottle bras, this video established Gaga as pop's reigning provocateur. Francis Lawrence's stark white sets and theatrical choreography made every frame meme-ready before memes were the norm. It

Year: 2009Director: Francis LawrenceReported Budget: $1,000,000Innovation: 7/10Cultural Influence: 7/10

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Jamiroquai – "Virtual Insanity"

Jonathan Glazer's living room set slides, tilts, and morphs around a moonwalking Jay Kay in a single continuous illusion of shifting floors and furniture. The practical, in-camera trickery still baffles viewers decades later without a hint of CGI. It won a record-tying haul of MT

Year: 1996Director: Jonathan GlazerReported Budget: —Innovation: 9/10Cultural Influence: 6/10

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Childish Gambino – "This Is America"

Hiro Murai's unflinching single-shot commentary on gun violence and Black entertainment in America shocked and provoked debate the moment it dropped. Donald Glover's shifting expressions between joyful dance and sudden violence made it one of the most analyzed videos of the strea

Year: 2018Director: Hiro MuraiReported Budget: —Innovation: 8/10Cultural Influence: 9/10

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Guns N' Roses – "November Rain"

A nine-minute rock opera featuring a wedding, a funeral, and a full orchestra, directed by Andy Morahan at enormous expense for its time. It remains the first video from the 20th century to surpass a billion YouTube views, decades after release. Its operatic scale defined the exc

Year: 1992Director: Andy MorahanReported Budget: $1,500,000Innovation: 6/10Cultural Influence: 7/10

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Kanye West – "Runaway"

A 35-minute short film featuring ballerinas, a phoenix bride, and Kanye's own solitary piano performance, this was as much art installation as music video. Its unapologetic length and grandiosity mirrored the maximalism of the My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy album itself. It's

Year: 2010Director: Kanye WestReported Budget: —Innovation: 8/10Cultural Influence: 7/10

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Gotye ft. Kimbra – "Somebody That I Used to Know"

Body paint blending two nude figures into a gray-scale mural wall made this indie-pop breakup song into an inescapable visual phenomenon. Natasha Pincus's minimalist art-school aesthetic went viral well beyond the song's original audience. It became one of the most parodied video

Year: 2011Director: Natasha PincusReported Budget: —Innovation: 6/10Cultural Influence: 6/10

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