How The Videos Are Ranked
I rank the music videos for the Music Videos Ranked list with a points system, similar to that found on the websites Best Ever Albums, Album of the Year, and They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They. Each music video is awarded a certain number of points for appearing on a critics’ or fans’ list, for winning or being nominated for awards, and for achieving a certain number of views on YouTube, among other factors.
Below is a list of the sources considered, grouped by how many points are awarded for each. I update this list regularly, replacing older sources with newer ones as they become available.
30 POINTS
Chicago Tribune’s 25 of the Most Iconic Music Videos Ever Made
Cosmopolitan 42 Sexy Music Videos
E! Most Memorable Music Videos Ever
Goliath’s Greatest Music Videos of All Time
Insider’s Most Iconic Music Videos of All Time
The Mary Sue’s Best Music Videos Ranked
Music Grotto’s 25 Best Music Videos of All Time
Parade’s Best Music Videos of All Time
Rolling Stone 100 Greatest
Slant 100 Greatest Music Videos
Tidal Classic Music Videos (by genre)
TimeOut Best Music Videos of All Time
Yardbarker 25 Most Influential Music Videos of All Time
Yardbarker 50 Greatest Music Videos of All Time
20 POINTS
IMDb Top 50 Music Videos
Music Video History: Music Videos in the pre-MTV Era
Ranker 13 Best Visual Albums
Ranker 27 Best Hip Hop Music Videos
Ranker 30 Best Country Music Videos
Ranker 50 Best Rock Music Videos
Rolling Stone Readers Poll
RYM Top 40: 1950s
RYM Top 40: 1960s
RYM Top 40: 1970s
RYM Top 40: 1980s
RYM Top 40: 1990s
RYM Top 40: 2000s
RYM Top 40: 2010s
RYM Top 40: 2020s
YouTube 2 Billion Views
15 POINTS
Hot Top 5 1960s Music Videos
Pitchfork Top 25 Music Videos of the 1970s
udiscovermusic 30 Best Music Videos From The 80s
Pitchfork Top 50 Music Videos of the 1990s
Pitchfork Top 50 Music Videos of the 2000s
Slant 100 Best Music Videos of the 2010s
Slant’s Best Music Videos of 2020
Slant’s Best Music Videos of 2021
Slant’s Best Music Videos of 2022
10 POINTS
CMA Video of the Year Award
CMA Video of the Year Nomination
Grammy Best Music Video Award
Grammy Best Music Video Nomination
Hal Marcovitz’s “The History of Music Videos”
Music/Video Histories Aesthetics Media
Brad Osborn’s “Interpreting Music Video: Popular Music in the Post-MTV Era”
VMA Video of the Year Award
VMA Video of the Year Nomination
VMAs: Won five or more total awards
Do you know of a recent quality list that would make a good addition? Email me at adamcallroberts@gmail.com
Want to help influence the rankings? Rate the videos on this site or on our subreddit. Your ratings and upvotes will be incorporated into the Top 250 rankings in the future.