Every MTV VMA Video of the Year winner, ranked

Some people just don’t have a great sense of humor. Spears and Co. were trying to parody her image and her life in the time period — you know, paparazzi and stuff. However, there is a fake tabloid featured in the “Piece of Me” video called “Rats Weakly.” That about says it all. It’s hard not to roll your eyes at this one.

'N Sync never won a Video of the Year award, and this is also the only one Timberlake ever won. It’s definitely an ambitious video, telling the story of a romance from inception to death of the man in the relationship. That’s lofty, but it also feels a little overwrought, and it’s far from the best or most noteworthy Timberlake song. We aren’t saying it didn’t deserve the award, but it’s a somewhat lackluster win.

This is the most recent winner, so perhaps we need more time to let it simmer. Cabello’s win feels mildly surprising, given that she beat Childish Gambino’s viral “This is America” video, as well as one from Beyonce and Jay-Z. Maybe voters just really liked the song? We don’t know what the thinking was, but it’s hard to rate this one any higher at the moment.

The video is certainly, well, eventful. A lot of stuff happens, but it’s not exactly original or fresh. It is quite ribald, and that made it controversial. In the end, we can’t put a song that is labeled as being “electro house” on Wikipedia any higher than this. That’s not Rihanna’s strong suit. It’s not anybody’s strong suit.

Yes, the MTV VMAs have been around long enough for Don Henley to have won one. He took home Video of the Year in 1985, the second year of the awards. And yet “The Boys of Summer” seems even older than that. It’s a song that feels like it’s been around forever, and it’s perfectly fine.

Where you rank Eminem’s music videos really comes down to how much tolerance you have for his antics. If you are over the age of 16, that answer will probably be “little.” There is something unapologetically sophomoric and juvenile, at best, about Marshall Mathers’ music videos. Osama Bin Laden makes an appearance, and Elvis eats a sandwich out of a toilet. At least Eminem always goes for it.

Long song titles? Ridiiulous band names? You know we’re talking 2000s emo! It was the first music video Panic! At the Disco ever made, and it has an over-the-top circus theme. The poet Jose Marti once wrote, “immensity brings joy.” Perhaps it does, but needless punctuation certainly does not.

Bad Girl RiRi is back, this time with the song that made her famous. She got a boost from Jay Z, which may have been a little awkward for him, as the video for “Umbrella” beat offerings from Beyonce and Kanye West. However, as Vince Lombardi said, winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. This video couldn’t come close to winning this ranking though.

Here’s a fun fact: This is the only Video of the Year winning song that doesn’t have its own Wikipedia page. It’s also far from Young’s most famous song. That being said, you can’t go too wrong with the legendary singer-songwriter. Young was able to beat a prominent but controversial video along the way: “Like a Prayer” by Madonna.

Here’s Eminem’s second video on the list. His wins came in short order, as he first won in 2000 and then won his second trophy in 2002. Then we seemed to all sort of tire of Eminem’s schtick. There are a bunch of Eminem clones in this video, which is kind of interesting and is what gets it this high on the list.

There are better Green Day songs and, frankly, better Green Day videos. This was after the early days of fast, simple punk was left behind by the band, as it focused on getting more bombastic and even rock opera-esque. A lot of these videos seem to win for their grandiosity. Additionally, this song is the only one to ever win a Grammy for Record of the Year and the VMA for Video of the Year.

For a little while there, Hill was THE thing in music. Then, things went a little sideways for her, but we always have that peak. This song is her most famous and definitely is catchy, and the video is kind of cool but also fairly simple. That’s not a bad thing though. Consider this video a solid double.

This song is kind of whatever, which is about the peak for Van Halen’s music. However, “Right Now” is an iconic, and often referenced, music video. It’s a montage of images and videos featuring block text over them. They all begin with “right now,” of course. The band got a chance to touch on social issues by doing that, and the video ended up in heavy rotation on MTV due to its popularity.

Yes, INXS made a music video for two different songs that were back-to-back on its album. “Need You Tonight” is a better-remembered song, and it is certainly catchy. The “Need You Tonight” part of the video is interesting, but the “Mediate” portion is basically a riff on Bob Dylan’s iconic video for “Subterranean Homesick Blues.” As such, we knocked off a couple points for being overly derivative.

This is an ambitious video, even by Swift’s standards. Sometimes she comes across as a theater geek stuck in a pop star’s career. The “Bad Blood” video is almost a short film, which some have compared to “Sin City,” at least in terms of style. It definitely deserves points for ambition and spectacle, but also Swift plays a character named “Catastrophe.” So, you know, pluses and minuses.

Good thing Swift and Perry have made up, or otherwise the choice of putting Perry’s winning video one over Swift’s might have escalated their conflict. It’s a feel-good song, so naturally it has a feel-good video. It borders on mawkish at times, but the bombast of the music helps overcome any of that extreme sentimentality.

Has any other music video riffed on both “The Last Supper” by Leonardo da Vinci and also those old Grey Poupon commercials? Not that we know. That alone shot Lamar up the rankings. It can be a little heavy-handed at times, but there are only minor qualms with the “HUMBLE.” video.

Look, Weezer’s video for “Buddy Holly” was definitely snubbed for the win, but that doesn’t mean we don’t like the “Waterfalls” video. All the HIV and AIDS stuff is a little awkward, but the liquid-style versions of the members of TLC were cool at the time. We aren’t going to knock the video for advancements in technology.

There are controversies about this video. For starters it was directed by Terry Richardson, who is a problematic individual. It also is famous for featuring Cyrus, still quite young at the time, swinging on a wrecking ball in her birthday suit. That being said, it’s an interesting concept visually. Also, this is definitely Miley’s best song, and don’t forget the importance of that in these rankings.

This is the most turn-of-the-millennium music video possible, not just because of the women involved but also because of all the visuals. It’s bright, and colorful and truly insane. The four ladies are all wearing lingerie a la cabaret performers. After all, this song was from the soundtrack for “Moulin Rouge!”

Lady Gaga had to like her odds of winning Video of the Year in 2010. After all, she was nominated twice for this award. “Bad Romance” beat out her video for “Telephone,” even though that one featured Beyonce. Maybe that’s because “Bad Romance” is a better song, or perhaps people found this dark but poignant video more engaging.

This is a rather raunchy song, so the music video version had to be edited a bit to be played on MTV. It’s also Missy Elliott’s most famous song, which is saying something. Her rapping always made her stand out, and that’s certainly the case on “Work It.” Just don’t confuse it for the terrible sitcom of the same name.

Madonna and MTV go hand in hand, so it’s a little surprising that it took until 1998 for the Material Girl to win a Video of the Year Award. Not that we are against the choice of “Ray of Light” for the win, but it’s a case of song and video being really simpatico with each other. It’s a frenetic song, so naturally it has a frenetic video that was apparently inspired by the classic art film “Koyaanisqatsi.” How many other music videos can say that?

Alicia Silverstone starred in a few Aerosmith videos, but this is the one that got an award. It’s also the one where Silverstone fights her boyfriend, feigns committing suicide in front of a bunch of cops and her boyfriend and them gives her beau the finger. On top of that, she gets her belly button pierced, which is sometimes credited for popularizing navel piercings as a trend.

This is a song, and thus a video, that begins with Sting saying “I want my MTV,” which was MTV’s slogan for a while. That makes it one of the first videos to really reference the growing influence of the channel. Is the animation bad by today’s standards? Yes, but it was iconic at the time, and it kind of looks cool in a retro way. We consider the animation part of its charm. The gay slur dropped in the song? Less so.

Beyonce, be it as a solo artist or with Destiny’s Child, has had about a million famous music videos. “Formation” is less frivolous than many of them. It sort of sees itself as a look at life in the south, particularly for its black community. Though it was a controversial video at the time of its debut, that controversy has seemingly died down.

That’s right. Back-to-back Beyonce videos! It was a pretty easy choice to put “Single Ladies” on top of “Formation.” For one, it’s a catchier song. It may be a bit problematic in its message, but it definitely makes your toe tap. Plus, the video features a dance that basically became immediately iconic. That’s the power of Queen Bey.

People may be squeamish about this music video in the modern climate. After all, it’s about a troubled boy committing suicide in front of his classmates by shooting himself in the head. That is SUPER dark. It’s also one of the most famous videos of all time and was a staple of MTV in the ‘90s. It’s one of the two quintessential grunge music videos alongside “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Nirvana didn’t win this award, but Pearl Jam did. Score one for Eddie Vedder.

The Cars won the first Video of the Year Award. It’s definitely ambitious and creative, as Ric Ocasek appears in all sorts of different forms to a woman, including as a bee. It’s silly and a little weird but also kind of funny. That being said, “You Might Think” is one of the best songs in a Video of the Year winner.

Claymation and stop motion in a music video from the ‘80s? You’d better believe it! Some of the imagery is straight up weird; even a little creepy. Gabriel definitely created something evocative and memorable along with the director and animators of the “Sledgehammer” video. It’s cool. You can’t argue with the brilliance of the creativity.

If not for this music video, nobody would remember Jamiroquai. “Virtual Insanity,” and specifically the video for it, is the band’s legacy. The video is, in fact, awesome. It looks like the floor of the room that the band’s front man, Jay Kay, is in is moving around. The choreography is so impressive. Nobody can duplicate it because it would feel like a rip-off. “Virtual Insanity” will live on forever thanks to its video.

“Hey Ya!” didn’t need its video for its success. It was a radio staple and arguably the song of the summer. The video was just the icing on the cake of that infectious jam. We get to see eight different versions of Andre 3000 performing the song on an old-school TV set. It’s supposed to invoke the Beatles on the “Ed Sullivan Show.” That’s bold, but it totally works. Andre 3000 was a tour de force around this time.

In 1902 Georges Melies released the famous silent film “A Trip to the Moon.” Ninety-some-odd years later, Smashing Pumpkins turned it into the inspiration for the video for “Tonight, Tonight.” The original film is a charming delight, and the Smashing Pumpkins video is a fun riff on it. The whole thing is really cool looking, with a smidge of whimsy. It’s also the band’s best song.

“Losing My Religion” is the second-best song to win Video of the Year, which is a big reason why it’s ranked second on this list. When you start with a great song, you don’t have to do much to have a good music video. Tarsem Singh directed the video, and he knows his way around provocative visuals. It looks like a bunch of tableaus strung together. It’s pretty beautiful at its peaks.

Yeah, it’s simple. The video is just a close up of O’Connor singing. It’s also an amazing video. For starters, it’s a fantastic song. The arrangements are great, and O’Connor’s vocals are so powerful and emotional. That emotion is written all over her face as she sings. When O’Connor begins to cry during the video, it clinched the top spot on this list. Nothing compares to this video. It’s the best of the bunch.