My List Of The Greatest Music Videos Of All Time

It’s the holidays. Let’s have a cool and lighthearted article.

Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash

With New Year’s approaching, I figured I’d make an easy article for us all. It’s been a rough year. We might as well have a blurb that features good music, good times, and more.

Music makes the world go round. So, why not have a list of cool videos to enhance that music? Without further ado, here are my picks for the best music videos of all time.

Aaron Smith — Dancin — Krono Remix (Official Video) ft. Luvli

I love seeing videos where people dance. This is a great video with fun dancing in a vaporwavey setting. What’s not to love about this video? I’ve always wanted to dance in a mall like this.

(Hey, videographers and fellow models, if you wanna make this happen, hit me up. #lifelongdream here!) The aesthetics of this video are what make it so amazingly well-done.

Scissors Sisters — Filthy Gorgeous

I’ve written about this music video before, but this video straight up saved my life. No, really. It set off a whole chain of events that helped me run away from traffickers and got me passionate about hula hooping.

There’s something about this hula hooper in the video that just was so inspiring. They were so beautiful, so androgynous, so graceful. I just wanted to be like them when I was in high school.

The Avalanches — Since I Left You

The Avalanches seem to be a group that always make a point of creating thought-provoking music videos. This one is about two miners who get caught in a mine with a gas leak.

The dancing you see? That’s one of the miner’s last moments. Grim as it is, it’s one of the most beautiful videos all about treasuring every single breath you take — even as it kills you.

When I first saw this video, I was going through a rough breakup. This video helped me realize that I’m still alive and sometimes, that’s just enough.

I decided to limit my list to ONE Avalanches video. Otherwise, it’ll be the whole list.

Michael Jackson — Thriller

The King of Pop was a genius. This music video was one of the first mainstream ones to feature a full plot, cinematic acting, and a dance that is still being done to this day.

I honestly believe this video was a work of high art. It encapsulated the 80s in a way few others did. While many people might try to make their own videos similar to this, you really can’t do better than the King.

Orgy — Dreams In Digital

Orgy was one of my favorite bands as a middle schooler and high schooler. Like Avalanches, this is a band that always had standout music videos that delivered both an aesthetic and a weird way to see the world.

Now, I could wax poetic about how hot the guys in the video are or how their makeup inspired me to have a brief dalliance with silver lipstick. But, the artwork of this post-apocalyptic world is what really got me.

I swear, Orgy was the best boy band of nu-metal and industrial.

Fatboy Slim — Weapon of Choice

Where do I begin with this music video? The 90s was a golden era of music videos and Fatboy Slim is a perfect example of this. The choreography, the dreamlike scenario, and the flying moments were just perfect.

Besides, Christopher Walken is one of the most hilarious people to ever see dancing around in a music video. This video was famous when it came out and you can totally see why once you watch it.

Stromae — Carmen

Yes, it’s a remix of “Carmen” from the famous opera. Stromae is a French music artist who likes to talk about intelligent topics in his music. This hit is about the effect of social media on self-esteem and relationships.

I just love how the bird mutates in this. What’s wild is that this music video is not new. It’s nine years old. This video aged like fine wine, don’t you think?

Dengue Fever — Sni Bong

This was the music video that made me realize I love Cambodian rock. It’s trippy, cool, and slightly retro. What really makes this a favorite of mine is the fact that it opened up a new genre of music.

For those unaware, Cambodian rock has a fairly tragic and rebellious past. The movement was a middle finger to the bloodbath of the Khmer Rouge. Most of the people who started the music trend were killed.

You can still feel a lot of the rebellion in this song. It’s beautiful.

Chinese Man — Shikantaza

Oddly enough, the band Chinese Man isn’t Chinese. They’re from France and they’re a turntablist group. However, they tend to bring out a lot of Asian aesthetics in both their music videos and lyrics.

This band is known for making deeply aesthetic music videos that make you go, “Hm.”

Dan Deacon — Crystal Cat

I honestly can’t explain why I like this video. Really. But this is one of the only videos I’ve ever seen that genuinely guarantees me cracking a large grin when I see it.

Most of Dan Deacon’s music videos involve a lot of arthouse-style films with cool concepts behind them. This is just…well, I’m pretty sure Dan Deacon has seen what I see in a typical acid trip. That’s all.

No matter what I’ve gone through, watching this music video will make me smile. That’s what makes it so great.

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Partying it up as a flapper.