MTV just celebrated their 40th anniversary. What better time for Rolling Stone to release their new list of “The 100 Greatest Music Videos Of All Time”? There are some major changes to the updated list which will surely cause some serious debates. According to Rolling Stone “these are the videos that continue to thrill us, delight us, disturb us, and remind us just how much you can do in three to four minutes with a song, a camera, a concept, a pose, some mood lighting, and an iconic hand gesture or two.” I’ll get you started with the top 20 videos.
1. “Formation”, Beyoncé
2. “Hurt”, Johnny Cash
3. “Vogue”, Madonna
4. “This is America”, Childish Gambino
5. “The Perfect Kiss”, New Order
6. “Sabotage”, Beastie Boys
7. “Untitled (How Does It Feel?)”, D’Angelo
8. “Sledgehammer”, Peter Gabriel
9. “November Rain”, Guns N’ Roses
10. “Billie Jean”, Michael Jackson
11. “Freedom ‘90”, George Michael
12. “Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)”, Beyoncé
13. “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, Nirvana
14. “Take on Me”, A-ha
15. “Fell in Love With a Girl”, The White Stripes
16. “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)”, Missy Elliott
17. “Hungry Like the Wolf”, Duran Duran
18. “Kiss”, Prince
19. “Paranoid Android”, Radiohead
20. “Nobody Speak”, DJ Shadow featuring Run the Jewels
One of the first things you’ll notice is Aha “Take On Me” is farther down the updated list than before and (spoiler alert) Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” isn’t on the list at all! Click the link to see the complete list and why Rolling Stone chose each video.
[ Check out "The 100 Greatest Music Videos" from Rolling Stone. ]
Let the debate begin!
-- Doug O’Brien