Recommended Music Videos

Best Dance Videos

1. Smooth Criminal (Moonwalker Version) - Michael Jackson
   The world's most influential dancer, surrounded by a crowd of impeccably choreographed backups in a colorful gangland fantasy. (Full Review)
   
   
2. Praise You - Fatboy Slim (dir. Spike Jonze)
   Voted best video of all time by MTV
   
   
3. Giving Him Something He Can Feel - En Vogue
   Sexy and classy
   
   
4. Here it Goes Again (Ok Go) - Dancing on a Treadmill
   I really like the do-it-yourself aesthetic of this band's videos, especially given that they're now fairly well-known. A video like this emphasizes creativity and (presumably) hours of rehersal and preparation over glitter, glitz and million-dollar budgets.
   
   
5. Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim (dir. Spike Jonze)
   The popular video exposing creepy cult favorite Christopher Walken's unexpected dance talents.
   
   
6. Yatta
   WARNING: Semi-Nude Japanese men.
   
   
7. Oh So Quiet - Bjork (dir. Spike Jonze)
   
   
8. NEW! Work It Out - RJD2
   Dancing on crutches.
   
   
9. Hey Mickey! - Toni Basil
   Demented cheerleaders.
   
   
10. Days Go By - Dirty Vegas
    The popular breakdance-nostalgia video.

Best Story Videos (Drama)

1. Hurt - Johnny Cash (dir. Mark Romanek)
   Romanek's camera records a brutally moving pre-mortum elegy to Cash and his wife, neither of whom would live long beyond the film's release.
   
   
2. Bachelorette - Bjork (dir. Michel Gondry)
   Michel Gondry's hallucinatory dream imagery is a perfect complement to Bjork's ethereal voice and lyrics.
   
   
3. It's My Life - No Doubt
   A gorgeous retro-noir three-minute soap opera
   
   
4. Thriller - Michael Jackson (dir. John Landis)
   Jackson and Landis' horror-movie tribute, the first big-budget long-form music video, and still one of the best and most memorable videos ever.
   
   
5. Fake Plastic Trees - Radiohead
   The supermarket as a metaphor for life.
   
   
6. Digging in the Dirt - Peter Gabriel
   An elegant meditation on the fallout from childhood trauma.
   
   
7. Mary Jane's Last Dance - Tom Petty
   
   
8. 16 Military Wives - The Decemberists
   An anti-imperialist satire

Best Story Videos (Comedy)

1. Tribute - Tenacious D
   Jack Black and Kyle Gass in perhaps the funniest music video ever.
   
   
2. Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
   Dave Grohl in multiple roles in this hilarious stoner video.
   
   
3. Goodbye Earl - Dixie Chicks
   Watch for Dennis Frantz's "Thriller" parody in this Dixie Chicks revenge fantasy.
   
   
4. Just a Friend - Biz Markie
   The original "singing" rapper in this unforgettable classic.
   
   
5. Roses - Outkast (dir. Bryan Barber)
   Clever in-jokes, split-second cameos and West Side Story references abound in this parody of a high-school musical.
   
   
6. Ooh - De La Soul
   A clever and entertaining "Wiz" parody.
   
   
7. I Wish I Was a Little Bit Taller - Skee Lo
   
   
8. Girls Just Wanna Have Fun - Cyndi Lauper
   
   
9. Batter Up - Nelly
   
   
10. Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros - Flight of the Concords
    A hip hop travesty by New Zealand's finest.

Concepts

1. Hey Ya! - Outkast (dir. Bryan Barber) A reverse British Invasion
   
   
2. Everlong - Foo Fighters (dir. Michel Gondry)
   Gondry's dream imagery combined with the trademark Foo Fighter sense of humor.
   
   
3. Honey - Erykah Badu
   A loving tribute to decades of vinyl.
   
   
4. Sugar Water - Cibo Matto (dir. Michel Gondry) Goes both directions in time.
   
   
5. Star Guitar - Chemical Brothers (dir. Michel Gondry) Technology-aided blend of audio and visual.
   
   
6. Black or White - Michael Jackson
   This is the video that first introduced computer morphing technology.
   
   
7. Like a Boy - Ciara
   It's a surprisingly subversive visit to androgyny and gender role reversal for the R&B songstress.
   
   
8. Let Forever Be - Chemical Brothers (dir. Michel Gondry)
   
   
9. Deadweight - Beck (dir. Michel Gondry)
   
   
10. NEW! Nature Anthem - Grandaddy
    Repetitive and cutesy --yet irresistible!

Visuals

1. Bombs Over Baghdad - Outkast
   Displays the Outkast genius for combining standard hip hop fare, such as fancy cars and scantily clad women with more far-out visions such as the fractal backgrounds and color-reversed landscape.
   
   
2. Helena - My Chemical Romance
   Goth has never looked so good.
   
   
3. Come into My World - Kylie Minogue (dir. Michel Gondry)
   Watch the chanteuse multiply.
   
   
4. Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears for Fears
   The psychedelic revival at its best.
   
   
5. Stand Up - Ludacris
   Playful and creative
   
   
6. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
   The main effect came from a trick floor, not camera tricks or computer effects.
   
   
7. Work It - Missy Elliot
   
   
8. Drop - The Pharcyde (dir. Spike Jonze)
   
   
9. Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
   
   
10. The Whole World - Outkast f. Killer Mike
    Lurid circus imagery and muted racial commentary enrich this Outkast classic.

Animation

1. Take on Me - Aha!
   Rotoscoped fantasy that was the first hit video to rely on special effects.
   
   
2. I've Got Some Falling to Do - Lemon Demon
   
   
3. Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
   
   
4. Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz
   
   
5. Dare - Gorillaz
   
   
6. Muto
   More of a video with incidental music than a music video, but too cool to not include --an ambitious animation made all from graffiti.
   
   
7. The Box - Eastern Conference Champions (dir. Elliot Jokelson)
   Described as "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" meets A-Ha!

Kitoba.com Original Music Videos

1. Hang On Sloopy (Orange Juice)
   
   
2. Three O' Clock World (All People Youth Band)
   Our version of Allen Reynolds' classic "Five O' Clock World," made famous by the Vogues and featured on the Drew Carey show.
   
   
3. Wonderful World (All People Jam Band)
   The All People Jam Band takes on Sam Cooke's famous hit, "Wonderful World"
   
   
4. Teenage Christian (Johnny Miracle)
   Christian rapper Johnny Miracle with his freestyle original, "Teenage Christian"
   
   
5. Lean on Me (All People Jam Band)
   A sing-along version of Bill Withers' all-time hit.
   
   
6. Soldier, Soldier (Christopher Sunami)
   An original anti-war anthem.

Live Performances

1. Michael Jackson - Motown 25 - Billie Jean
   
   
2. Bill Withers - Ain't No Sunshine, Lean on Me
   
   
3. Os Mutantes - Panis et Circensus
   
   
4. Fantasia - Summertime
   
   
5. Beck - Clap Hands
   Not necessarily the playful troubadour's best song, but the musical dinner table is one of his best ever concepts. If this link fails, try the artist's website (link below under "Artists") under Videos: SNL Oct 2006.
   
   
6. Gilberto Gil - Domingo No Parque
   
   
7. Scissor Sisters -Take Your Mama Out
   
   
8. Christina - This is a Man's World (at the Oscars)
   
   
9. LaKisha - God Bless the Child
   
   
10. Mark Goffeney (The Foot Guitarist) - Mary Jane's Last Dance

Musicals (Dramatic Scenes)

1. El Tango De Roxanne - Moulin Rouge
   
   
2. Let It Be - Across the Universe
   
   
3. I Want You - Across the Universe
   
   
4. Ballad of a Thin Man - I'm Not There
   
   
5. The Circle of Life - The Lion King (Musical)
   
   
6. Cell Block Tango - Chicago
   The Merry Murderesses of Chicago.
   
   
7. Come Together - Across the Universe
   
   
8. I Wanna Hold Your Hand - Across the Universe
   
   
9. All That Jazz - Chicago
   The signature piece from Chicago.

Musicals (Comic Scenes)

1. We Both Reached For the Gun - Chicago
   
   
2. NEW! Springtime For Hitler - The Producers (1968)
   
   
3. Like A Virgin - Moulin Rouge
   
   
4. All I Care About (is Love) - Chicago
   
   
5. When You're Good To Mama - Chicago

Television

1. Five O' Clock World - The Drew Carey Show
   
   
2. Pee Wee's Playhouse Intro
   
   
3. Mahna Mahna - The Muppets
   
   
4. Cleveland Rocks - The Drew Carey Show
   
   
5. NEW! Guy Love - Scrubs

Parodies

1. A Real Long Time Ago Dave Chappelle (as Tupac)
   
   
2. Condelezza Raps
   
   
3. Fat - Weird Al Yankovic
   
   
4. Amish Paradise - Weird Al Yankovic
   
   
5. White & Nerdy - Weird Al Yankovic

Good Enough For Teh Interweb

1. The Ballad of Bilbo Baggins (Leonard Nimoy) A campy, see-it-to-believe-it classic.
   
   
2. A Capella Nintendo Medley
   
   
3. The Whopperettes and the Hootie (Darius Rucker) Burger King commercials.
   
   
4. Break Dancer Wait for the guy in the orange shirt.

Sites of Video Producers and Directors

1. Spike Jonze
   
2. Michel Gondry
   
3. Bryan Barber
   
4. Rhet Bear
   
5. Waverly
   
6. Traktor
   
7. Director File
   
8. Otaku House
   
9. Ghost Robot

Sites of Artists

1. Outkast
   
2. Bjork
   
3. Beck

Another Good Music Video Site