People refer to the 1990s as the golden age of hip-hop. The diverse, quality, and innovative music videos defined and characterized the period. A study conducted by Dr. Pascal Wallisch of New York University in the United States confirmed that even millennials accepted that pop music’s golden age was the 1990s. The survey conducted among people aged 18-25 found that the participants’ music memory of the 21st century diminished faster while memories of music made in the 1990s lasted longer. The Journal Public Library of Science published the research.
The 1990s, which was often referred to as the decade of peace, did not just experience political stability but also saw the best entertainment through quality music videos.
Here is our list of the best music videos made in the 1990s.
10. George Michael – Freedom [1990]
Michael’s relationship with the camera has grown sour. In his words, “At some point in your career, the situation between yourself and the camera reverses. For a certain number of years, you court it, and you need it. But it needs you more and it is a bit like a relationship. The minute that happens, it turns you off … and it does feel like it is taking something from you.”
Michael decided to have a video without his face shown, though that was not the first video of such a model. The video for “Freedom” showed five models who were lip-syncing the song. Directed by David Fincher, another icon at producing videos in the 90s, the video became fans’ favorite and earned a lot of recognition.
9. Blind Melon — No Rain [1992]
The video for Blind Melon’s “No Rain” is another masterpiece directed by Samuel Bayer. Often credited with the best videos of the 90s, Bayer did not fall short of his standard. The video featured a young dancer wearing a bee costume. She stops often dancing for people willing to watch her dance as her means of expressing her loneliness.
Since the release of the video, different music shows have invited the “bee girl” character to display her dance steps.
8. Nine Inch Nails – Closer [1994]
“Closer” was the song that had a tremendous impact on the American band Nine Inch Nails’ career. The video combines the elements of religion, sexuality, animal cruelty, politics, and terror. In a 2006 poll by VHI, audiences voted “Closer” as the number one in a list of 20 most excellent music videos of all time.
7. Beastie Boys – Sabotage [1994]
Ranked 19 on the VHI’s rank of 100 greatest songs of the 90s, Beastie Boys’ “Sabotage” was a video directed by Spike Jonze. The video took the form of a 1970 style police show with each of the band members playing the protagonist’s role. When the MTV aired the video, the band edited out some of the scenes due to the network’s policy that prevented them from displaying dangerous activities and scenes. MTV nominated “Sabotage” for video of the year, best group video, breakthrough video, best direction in a video, and viewer’s choice awards. Though the video lost all five awards, its impact was tremendous. Later, the 2009 MTV Music Video Awards recognized the video as the winner of the best video (that should have won a Moonman) category.
6. Bjork — All is Full of Love [1999]
Not every artist uses music video as a pure marketing tool. Some artists find it an opportunity to display their creativity and find the rhythm for their artistic expressions. Bjork was an example of an artist who simply wanted to push their videos beyond human behavior. Through her use of sci-fi characters, she displayed this to illustrate her expressions in the “All Is Full of Love” video. Chris Cunningham directed the video, who Bjork completely entrusted with the video and robots and 3d animations. The video was highly decorated, winning the jury prize at Artfutura in 1999, Fantasporto’s best video in 2000. During the 2000 International Monitor Awards, the video won the best 3d animation music video and the best short-form music video awards at the 42nd Grammy Awards. MTV2 ranked it as the best music video award ever. The video also earned a place in Time’s 30 best music videos of all time.
Bjork’s video will easily make any list of the best music videos of all time.
5. Nirvana — Smells Like Teen Spirit [1991]
American rock band Nirvana experienced massive advancement in the music industry after releasing the “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” The song topped the charts in the music industry of different countries across the world. Samuel Bayer’s directorial debut was this music video. The video took the form of a school concert, which ends in a riot. Jonathan Kaplan’s 1979 movie titled ” Over the Edge” inspired the riot scene. Furthermore, due to the students’ association with anarchist symbology, Kurt Cobain severely edited a scene that displayed a teacher who became restrained to a basketball pole.
The song video won Nirvana the best new artist and best alternative group awards at the MTV video music awards. The video also earned a place in the Guinness book of records as the most played video on MTV Europe. In 1999, MTV ranked the video as the third greatest music video of all time.
By 2020, the video has about 1.1 billion views on YouTube. Just like the song, the video earned a place among the “evergreen” videos.
4. Madonna – Vogue [1990]
Could there be a list of songs or videos made in the 1990s without the presence of Madonna? David Fincher directed the video “Vogue”, whose idea of the song video was for Madonna to present a picture of one enjoying herself on the dance floor. Inspired by Vogue dancers, Madonna’s curiosity led her to the sound factory that introduced her to “vogueing.”
In the song’s video, Madonna and her dancers vogue to different choreographed dance moves. The video won three awards at the MTV video music awards, including the best direction, best editing, and best cinematography. MTV later ranked the music video as the second greatest music video of all time.
In 2009, “Vogue” became Madonna’s fourth music video to reach over 100 million views, making her the first female to achieve such feat in the music industry. Rolling Stone later called the song the 28th best music video ever made. Of all categories of music, no one can ever overlook Madonna.
3. Michael and Janet Jackson – Scream [1995]
The two members of the Jackson family were part of the greatest pop artists of all time. Fans claim that Michael Jackson wrote the song “Scream” in response to allegations of child abuse. However, this was beyond a message to a particular sect or group. The song combined pop, R&B, Electro Rock, Dance-pop, and funk, but it was the most captivating video.
The music video won three MTV music video awards and backed it up with a Grammy award for the best music video.
VHI also placed the song video as number nine on the list of 100 greatest music videos of all time. The song video also earned a place in the Guinness book of records as the most expensive music video, with about $7million used in creating the video. The video generated an argument over who performed better in the video between the Jacksons, but why not? They were the two of the prominent faces of hip-hop in a decade.
2. Pearl Jam – Jeremy [1991]
Eddie Vedder’s association with Chris Cuffaro, a renowned photographer, gave birth to the music video for Pearl Jam’s “Jeremy”. Vedder had to sell all his furniture and take out a loan to finance the video. With the help of veteran music director Mark Pellington and editor Bruce Ashley for the sounds, images, and graphics, Jeremy became a fantastic music video. Since the video did not often show the other band members, Vedder was the face of the unique song video.
The video won four MTV video music awards in 1993, including best video of the year, best group video, best metal/hard rock video, and best direction.
Beyond the entertainment and the accolades received, Pearl Jam released the video on YouTube for the national gun violence awareness day. “Jeremy” was beyond an ordinary music video. It appealed to everyone in society.
1. Guns N’ Roses — November Rain [1992]
There was no better way to open the decade than Guns N’ Rose’s “November Rain” in 1991. The video showed Rose getting married to his girlfriend, whose death he later mourned at the closing stages of the 9 minutes video. The video credited the short story titled “Without You” by Del James as the source of inspiration.
By 1992, a year after the video’s creation, it was already the fifth most expensive video ever, though it later dropped to 21 after two decades. “November Rain” was the first video made before YouTube to surpass one billion views. Also, it was the first music video from the 1990s to hit over a billion YouTube streams. The music video was very colorful considering the time of its release. The energy and passion were also on a different level.
Rose may have thought he was right when he said, “Nothing lasts forever, even the cold November rain,” but the legacy of his music video lingers on, even after decades of its release.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, these videos were popular among audiences of different generations, including Generation Z, who missed the excitement of watching the videos when their releases. Some of these videos also continue to attract a large stream of viewers on YouTube and other available media.
Author: Chris Ingledue
Contact: email
Bio: I am the founder and owner of Wheeljack’s Lab pop Culture and Toy Shop. My vision has always been to reunite customers with their favorite childhood toys and pop culture, triggering fond memories, and reigniting their imaginations. Every day, I work in the “lab” where it’s Christmas 365 days a year. I scour the internet, like when we had the Sears Catalog of yesteryear, for the next great treasure. Then, I await the arrival of the postman as if he were Santa Claus himself and helping collectors worldwide with their own versions of Christmas. Every day as a vintage toy buyer is an absolute joy!