Sometimes, a music video can become as famous and iconic as the song itself. Though initially conceived as a mere promotional tool, music videos have become works of art in their own right, some even being directed by famous movie directors. Here are 30 music videos that left a lasting mark on pop culture.
1. “Take On Me” – a-ha
Steve Barron’s video combines live action with pencil-sketch animation, following a woman who is pulled into the comic-book world of a-ha. It’s fun and has a distinctive and recognizable aesthetic.
2. “Sledgehammer” – Peter Gabriel
Directed by Stephen R. Johnson, the video is packed with stop-motion animation, claymation and surreal imagery. It became one of MTV’s signature videos and won a record nine MTV Video Music Awards in 1987.
3. “Bad Romance” – Lady Gaga
A maximalist combination of futuristic sets, elaborate costumes and choreography, this video became one of the defining visual statements of Gaga’s early career.
4. “Money for Nothing” – Dire Straits
Its early computer-generated imagery gave the video an unmistakably futuristic look. The animated characters watching television also provided a satirical take on the music-video industry itself.
5. “The Hardest Button to Button” – The White Stripes
Directed by Michel Gondry, the video uses stop-motion-style editing to make the band’s instruments and amplifiers appear and multiply down New York sidewalks and subway platforms as Jack and Meg White perform. Its playful visual concept turned a simple performance into one of the most recognizable music videos of the early 2000s.
6. “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” – Cyndi Lauper
The colorful, playful video helped establish Lauper’s eccentric pop persona and became an enduring visual representation of the song’s celebration of female independence and fun.
7. “Chandelier” – Sia
Maddie Ziegler performs an intense, highly expressive dance throughout an almost empty house. The video’s unusual choreography and distinctive visual identity made Ziegler’s blonde wig and dance instantly recognizable.
8. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” – Nirvana
Samuel Bayer’s video places Nirvana in a chaotic high-school gymnasium filled with cheerleaders and rebellious teenagers. Its grimy aesthetic became one of the defining visual representations of the grunge explosion and the early-1990s youth culture.
9. “Coffee & TV” – Blur
I’m sure you’ve seen this guy. Combining live action with elaborate creature effects, the video turned a simple milk carton into one of the most memorable characters of the era.
10. “November Rain” – Guns N’ Roses
This music video feels like a movie. It includes a wedding, a funeral and an expansive orchestral performance.
11. “Losing My Religion” – R.E.M.
Inspired partly by religious imagery and the work of Caravaggio, Tarsem Singh’s video creates a surreal series of tableaux around Michael Stipe. It became one of R.E.M.’s most recognizable visual statements.
12. “Black or White” – Michael Jackson
The video became famous for its groundbreaking morphing sequence, in which different faces transform smoothly into one another. Its enormous global television premiere made it a major pop-culture event.
13. “…Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears
The school-uniform aesthetic introduced Britney Spears to the mainstream and became inseparable from the visual identity of late-1990s teen pop. I mean, isn’t this one of the most used Halloween costumes ever?
14. “Physical” – Olivia Newton-John
This iconic music video features Newton-John surrounded by muscular men in a gym, and eventually turns the song’s lyrics into a comedic visual joke.
15. “I Want to Break Free” – Queen
Queen parodies the British soap opera Coronation Street, with the band members appearing in exaggerated domestic situations and Freddie Mercury dressed in drag. It became one of the group’s most recognizable videos and a memorable example of comedy in 1980s music television.
16. “Sabotage” – Beastie Boys
Spike Jonze directed the Beastie Boys in a deliberately over-the-top parody of 1970s cop television. The handheld camera work, fake moustaches and exaggerated action sequences made the video instantly recognizable and influential.
17. “Material Girl” – Madonna
Inspired by Marilyn Monroe’s performance of “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend,” Madonna recreates the glamorous Hollywood number while surrounded by tuxedoed dancers.
18. “Waterfalls” – TLC
TLC used its video to address subjects including HIV/AIDS, drug use and violence. The clip combined conventional narrative scenes with early digital effects and became one of the group’s defining cultural statements.
19. “Wannabe” – Spice Girls
The Spice Girls introduced themselves to the world with this energetic video, filmed at London’s Midland Grand Hotel. Directed by Johan Camitz, it follows the five members running through an extravagant party, dancing, singing, and generally causing chaos. It doesn’t get more iconic than this.
20. “Gangnam Style” – PSY
Come on, don’t pretend like you haven’t watched this one. Popular for its bizarre aesthetics and funny dance, “Gangnam Style” became the first video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube.
21. “Weapon of Choice” – Fatboy Slim
Christopher Walken performs an unexpectedly elaborate dance through an empty hotel lobby. Amazing.
22. “Around the World” – Daft Punk
Michel Gondry’s video turns the song’s repetitive structure into choreography: different groups of dancers represent different musical elements and move around a circular platform.
23. “Never Gonna Give You Up” – Rick Astley
Rick Astley’s debut single became one of the defining pop songs of the late 1980s, but its cultural life didn’t end there. Decades later, the music video became the centerpiece of “rickrolling,” an internet prank that unexpectedly turned Astley’s song into a global meme and introduced it to a new generation.
24. “Rock DJ” – Robbie Williams
This video is as iconic as it is controversial. Williams starts stripping, but doesn’t end at his clothes; he strips himself of his skin, too. The video was censored in European channels and was even banned outright in the Dominican Republic over Satanism claims. It went on to win Best Video at the 2001 Brit Awards and the MTV VMA for Best Special Effects.
25. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)” – Beyoncé
Shot in black and white with Beyoncé and two dancers performing a tightly choreographed routine, the video’s simplicity made the choreography its entire visual hook. The dance became a major pop-culture phenomenon and inspired countless parodies.
26. “Bad Blood” – Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift turned “Bad Blood” into a Hollywood-style spectacle, recruiting a star-studded cast of celebrities for the video. Directed by Joseph Kahn, the action-packed clip introduced a series of fictional characters and elaborate sets, making it feel more like a blockbuster trailer than a traditional music video. It became one of the defining pop-culture moments of the 2010s.
27. “Wrecking Ball” – Miley Cyrus
Miley Cyrus delivered one of the most talked-about music videos of the 2010s with “Wrecking Ball.” Directed by Terry Richardson, the video features Cyrus swinging from a wrecking ball and singing among the ruins of a demolished building. Its striking imagery quickly became part of the broader cultural conversation surrounding Cyrus’s dramatic transformation from Disney star to adult pop artist.
28. “Subterranean Homesick Blues” – Bob Dylan
Decades before MTV transformed the music industry, Bob Dylan appeared in this groundbreaking promotional film directed by D.A. Pennebaker. Standing in a London alley, Dylan holds up handwritten cards featuring words and phrases from the song’s lyrics, deliberately mismatching some of them with what he is singing. Its simple concept became one of the most influential early examples of the modern music video.
29. “Video Killed the Radio Star” – The Buggles
The title alone sounds like a prediction of what was about to happen. Released in 1979, “Video Killed the Radio Star” became even more culturally significant when its music video was chosen as the first video ever broadcast on MTV in 1981. Directed by Russell Mulcahy, the futuristic clip uses television screens, studio performances, and surreal imagery to explore the relationship between music and new technology.
30. “Thriller” – Michael Jackson
Probably the most iconic music video ever made. Directed by John Landis, this nearly 14-minute horror-inspired video blurred the line between music video and short film. Its elaborate choreography, werewolf transformation and zombie dance sequence helped establish the music video as a major visual art form. It was also the first music video selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
