My 40 Favorite Music Videos of All Time (Part 4)

Capping off my list with 10 recent classics from the 2010s

Oct 16, 2024

Music videos didn't wither on the vine as the world rushed headlong into the streaming era. Instead, they thrived like never before.

Sure, if you were around for MTV's glory days before it descended into the seventh circle of reality TV hell, you could talk about how it’s not the same. The shared experience aspect has been lost in the culture. It used to be better.

I’ll respectfully plant my flag on the other side of that argument. Without platforms like YouTube opening music’s global floodgates, you wouldn’t have the diversity and opportunity many artists have today. A quick glance at the Billion View Club highlights dozens of names from countries like Portugal and South Korea that wouldn’t have thrived in a music video landscape confined solely to MTV.

It’s also fueled the music industry’s suffocating nostalgia complex, with names like Rick Astley and a-ha living on to delight new generations of fans. I doubt they’d still be getting festival invites if it weren’t for their popularity with the YouTube sect.

This post will dive into my favorite music videos released during the 2010s. If you missed the previous installments in this series, click the following links to see which videos are my favorites from the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s.

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Onwards:

31. "This Is America" – Childish Gambino (2018)

Released in May 2018 simultaneously with his performance of the song on Saturday Night Live, this video represents Donald Glover’s creative apex (sorry Atlanta fans). It garnered nearly 13 million streams in its first 24 hours online and has over 920 million to its name as of this writing. A cultural critique overflowing with social commentary and symbolism calling out violence against Black Americans, it doesn’t wait for you to sit and digest it comfortably.

Its frenetic pace barely lets you keep up with the on-screen action at all.

In lesser hands, this approach wouldn’t have worked so well. I remember seeing it for the first time and thinking how impressive a technical achievement it was. Shot in a massive hanger, with actors and set pieces bending to the complex camera maneuvers, it’s a lean, mean idea that’s executed with unforgettable flair. It doesn’t hurt that Glover has the kind of acting chops needed to hold it all together.

32. "Formation" – Beyoncé (2016)

Speaking of bold statements about race …

For Beyoncé and director Melina Matsoukas, the “Formation” video was clearly seen as an opportunity to reclaim cultural narratives on behalf of Black communities in America. Some of the striking visuals to that effect include:

Beyoncé sitting atop a police cruiser sinking into New Orleans floodwaters
Beyoncé embodying the role of the mistress in a plantation household
A young Black kid dancing in front of cops decked out in riot hear

"I wanted to show — this is Black people,” Matsoukas told the New Yorker. “We triumph, we suffer, we're drowning, we're being beaten, we're dancing, we're eating, and we're still here.” Predictably, conservative groups in the US and Canada got all bent out of shape, seeing the imagery as too anti-police or, in the case of the former, anti-American.

Looking at it in hindsight, especially with Renaissance and Cowboy Carter now etched into the pop culture consciousness, it feels like the moment when Beyoncé’s music became about art, not chart success.

33. "Gangnam Style" – Psy (2012)

In researching this post, the term I kept seeing to describe the “Gangnam Style” video was “global phenomenon.” And you know what? I’m not going to try and wordsmith that sentiment. 5 billion YouTube views later, it’d be hard to quantify it as anything else. It is, without a shadow of a doubt, the track that brought K-pop into the mainstream music conversation permanently.

It’s also incredibly campy, which makes it all the more likable. His outfits range from chic to vaguely ridiculous, his posing is hilariously deadpan, and his dancing is … well, it was a thing that we all imitated at one point and, if you were like me and in your prime clubgoing days at the time, felt pretty stupid doing in the moment. But hey, it was the Macarena of its day.

It doesn’t take itself seriously and, as a result, remains more charming than annoying. It also has the United Nations’ stamp of approval, so, really, there’s no denying its power.

34. "Chandelier" – Sia (2014)

Before Sia began descending into pop music mediocrity, she released some truly arresting material. Even though she’s scored massive hits with the likes of Sean Paul and Kendrick Lamar, her creative apex is still 2014’s “Chandelier.” Beyond the monstrous vocal performance and hypnotic, minimalist groove, the video’s aesthetic and choreography remain gripping to this day.

The dancer at the center of the action, moving and contorting wildly in a dilapidated apartment, is Maddie Ziegler, who was 11 years old at the time of filming. She told New York Magazine that the process “was really different and weird for me, because I usually don't, you know, be a crazy person every time. It was so fun to do and it was really out of the box and it expanded me a lot […].”

The lyrics, an ode to Sia’s mental health struggles couched in party girl vernacular, add yet another compelling layer to the viewing experience.

35. "Humble" – Kendrick Lamar (2017)

When K. Dot dropped the video for “Humble,” I was a full-time hip-hop blogger. I mention this fact because it gave me a unique perspective on where the culture was at with the rapper as the anticipation built towards DAMN., the LP that, among its many accomplishments, won Lamar a Pulitzer Prize. Everyone I spoke to was excited but also nervous for Kendrick since the consensus at the time was topping To Pimp a Butterfly would be a near-impossible feat.

But, with “Humble,” the acclaimed emcee dispelled all notions that he’d take a step back. In the first 30 seconds alone, he assumes the role of hip-hop’s supreme leader, complete with a papal cope get-up, before taking a moment to shoot hundred-dollar bills at the camera while lying on a table of uncounted riches. As you may have guessed by now, the song isn’t actually about being humble. Pettiness and hubris are the name of the game here, and when this video dropped, it felt like the “best rapper alive” crown was Kendrick’s to lose.

36. "Moonlight" – Jay-Z (2017)

Of all the exceptional music videos Jay-Z has released over the years, this one may be the slyest in its social commentary.

The point is not that a sitcom featuring this incredible cast would be amazing, whether they’d insist on parodying Friends or not. Instead, the critique lies in the fact that, no matter how good any of the cast members perceive the show to be, it’ll never measure up to the white ideals of what quality entertainment should be. The song's title is a reference to the Best Picture Oscar winner of the same name, its victory overshadowed by Warren Beatty’s infamous snafu.

Hov’s lyrical stance—that hip-hop is stale and fake—is extended to other mainstream pop culture mediums through the video. It’s an important reminder about the racial divide that still exists in popular entertainment, regardless of the codeswitching and sacrifices that need to be made to capture the attention of the “right” audience (read: most accessible to advertisers).

Also, it’s so slickly produced and edited you forget you’re watching a damn music video about 30 seconds in.

37. "Gosh" – Jamie xx

As regular readers of this newsletter know, I particularly enjoy art that doesn’t telegraph its intentions or message. That doesn’t mean that only challenging, complex music or film or TV has a place in the culture, but rather, I have increasingly little interest in material that spoonfeeds you calculated emotional reactions and payoffs. This preference is a big reason why I adore the video for “Gosh.”

At first, you’re not exactly sure what you’re watching. A young man lying semi-comatose in a club, the same young man standing on a balcony, staring out into nothingness … big deal, right? But then, there’s a zoom-out shot that brings the entire narrative and theme into focus in just a few seconds. In those moments, you understand everything you need to know about the protagonist, the world he lives in, and the struggle he’s wrestling with. It’s a terrific example of show, don’t tell.

Directed by Romain Gavras, a music video vet with another bit of business coming up on this list, “Gosh” received widespread acclaim as one of the best vids of 2016, a well-earned title.

38. "Barbra Streisand" – Duck Sauce (2011)

Part celebrity home video montage, part New York City tribute, and part Barbra Streisand parody (the impressions of her throughout this video tickle me to this day), the video is just as silly and infectious as the Duck Sauce hit single. The cameos in this one are excellent, too, ranging from Questlove and DJ Premier to Pharrell and Kanye West. Like “Gangnam Style,” the main reason it works so well is that it doesn’t take itself seriously at all.

It’s worth lingering on that last point for a second. My research for this series meant sifting through many write-ups and internet comments that snarkily pointed out how “deep” the song’s lyrics were or how repetitive the listening experience was. Overall, music video criticism tends to split the medium into a high and low art binary that undermines the pleasures of a track like “Barbra Streisand.”

I understand I’m the guy who said I enjoy art that obfuscates a few minutes ago, so maybe this will sound contradictory, but you can also enjoy media where the sole intent is to have a good time, regardless of how mindless it looks or sounds on the surface. More often than not, it doesn’t have to be more depth.

39. "Bad Girls" – M.I.A. (2012)

Here’s where the conversation gets a bit trickier.

M.I.A. has had an undeniably global impact on rap and pop music, building on her initial success in the mid-2000s with records like Arular. Into the 2010s, she maintained widespread appeal, a platform that she used to start potentially challenging conversations through her music. “Bad Girls,” she tackles the notion of free, feminist agency as only she can.

Directed by Gravas and photographed over a four-day stretch in Morocco, this video has eye-popping visuals galore. Car stunts that belong in a Fast & Furious film, dance choreography in a desert landscape that deliberately evokes Madonna and cinematography that would get nominated for an Oscar if it were embedded in a blockbuster action movie.

And yet, this is also M.I.A. we’re talking about. The anti-vax, anti-5G conspiracy theorist who isn’t shy about chipping away at the public goodwill attained through other philanthropic endeavors. Does that taint the strong-willed image this music video puts forward? Your mileage will vary, but as a standalone exercise in style, this one couldn’t not make the cut.

40. "Lazarus" – David Bowie

Last on the list of my favorite music videos of all time, but certainly not least, was David Bowie’s official goodbye to his fan base.

Released January 7, 2016, three days before his death was announced, the short film is even more affecting in hindsight. It was supposedly during the week of filming “Lazarus” that Bowie got the news his cancer was terminal and that doctors would be halting treatment. According to director Johan Renck, the initial visual concept was based on the biblical reference to Lazarus (I’ll let you Google those details if you’re unfamiliar), not a reference to his illness.

But, watching the video for the first time since its release, it’s impossible not to see it as Bowie grappling with the idea that his life is ending. His face wrapped in bandages, lying on a literal and figurative deathbed, floating his way into the afterlife. “Look up here, man, I’m in danger,” he sings at one point before proclaiming: “I’ve got nothing left to lose.” Looking gaunt and ready to cross over into the great beyond, the combination of the words and imagery still hit me like a ton of bricks.

I have to assume that both Renck and Bowie knew they’d made something special. Over time, it’s become much more—a statement that will live on as one of the latter’s most deeply felt artistic achievements.

Which of these 10 music videos is your favorite? Any music video from the 2010s that isn’t present on this rundown that you think merits a spot? Sound off in the comments.