MusicRadar

Björk's All Is Full Of Love - directed by Chris Cunningham

View in gallery

Remind Me by Röyksopp – directed by H5
French studios H5 specialise in infographics – the type of diagram you find on aircraft safety cards. Not a very inspiring visual to a music video, you say? Watch the video to Röyksopp's Remind Me and think again. The systematic dissection of modern life seen here is both awe-inspiring and satisfying to watch, and it makes Röyksopp's bubbling, minimalist electronica all the more compelling.

Around The World by Daft Punk – directed by Michel Gondry
We didn't start writing this blog with the intention of making it a Michel Gondry love-in, but he's directed so many great promos that it was inevitable his name would pop up repeatedly. This clip for Daft Punk's naggingly infectious 1997 single visualises the various parts of the track's arrangement, with a different group of dancers – robots, athletes, synchronised swimmers, skeletons and mummies are all invited to the party – representing each of the instrumental elements. By the time you've finished watching, you feel that, without the video, the song simply couldn't exist.

Hurt by Johnny Cash – directed by Mark Romanek
The video for Cash's stark cover of Nine Inch Nails' Hurt hardly needs explaining: it's simply a touching yet somehow brutal film of a man in his twilight months, singing a song that seems to acknowledge his imminent demise. "I've gotten letter after letter from people saying that the video made them weep and they can't stop watching it," says Romanek. For a 'mere' pop promo, that's some achievement. Within a year, Cash and his wife June Carter Cash (also featured) were both gone.

That's our list, but what have we left out? What are your favourite music videos, and why? Let us know below…