Certainly! Here’s a polished version:
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These music videos aren’t necessarily bad—just incredibly unique. Welcome to WatchMojo! Today, we’re diving into the most over-the-top, quintessentially 90s, and downright wild music videos from the decade. Our countdown features unforgettable clips from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Vanilla Ice, Aqua, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Right Said Fred, and more! Do you recall watching these iconic videos when they first premiered? Share your memories in the comments below!
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These music videos aren’t necessarily bad—just incredibly unique. Welcome to WatchMojo! Today, we’re diving into the most over-the-top, quintessentially 90s, and downright wild music videos from the decade. Our countdown features unforgettable clips from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Vanilla Ice, Aqua, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Right Said Fred, and more! Do you recall watching these iconic videos when they first premiered? Share your memories in the comments below!
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Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00🎶 When you're hoping, in your bones to take 🎶
00:03Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:07over-the-top, of-their-time, or otherwise wild music videos from the 1990s.
00:12They aren't necessarily bad, just unique.
00:15🎶 Black hole sun, won't you come? 🎶
00:21Number 30, The Sign, Ace of Bass.
00:24The music video medium is eternally shifting,
00:26and has undergone lots of stylistic changes over the years.
00:29🎶 I got a new life, you'd hardly recognize me 🎶
00:33Perhaps no video is more of its time than this one from Sweden's Ace of Bass.
00:38The vocal group always brought the vocal thunder and melodic hooks with their music,
00:42while this video attempts to incorporate the visual technology of the day.
00:46🎶 Eyes for the time, they open up my eyes 🎶
00:50Floating gif-onks appear for reasons, while the group is superimposed over other images of,
00:56well, mostly themselves.
00:57It's not the worst offender on this list,
00:59but the tendency of The Sign to take itself 100% seriously definitely earns it a spot.
01:06Number 29, No Diggity, Blackstreet featuring Dr. Dre and Queen Pen.
01:11The R&B video tropes all seem to be in place
01:14upon an initial examination of No Diggity by Blackstreet.
01:17🎶 It's going down, fake to Blackstreet 🎶
01:19🎶 The homies got at me, collab creations 🎶
01:21🎶 Bump like Gaggeny 🎶
01:22Limos? Check. Background dancers? Double check.
01:26Blackstreet also remembered to bring their matching overalls, which is a nice touch.
01:35That said, can somebody explain to us why there's a marionette performing on a piano?
01:39It's an absurd element that's never really explained.
01:42Unless Dr. Dre thought it was a cool idea?
01:44Puppets appear throughout the video, playing guitar and generally hanging out.
01:49It's probably the most memorable aspect of No Diggity, however.
01:52And one of the reasons why we're still talking about the video today.
02:02Number 28, Nothing My Love Can't Fix, Joey Lawrence.
02:06It's a classic scenario. Actors singing and musicians acting.
02:13Joey Lawrence was the latest in a long line of show business types
02:16that attempted to stretch their creative legs with his single, Nothing My Love Can't Fix.
02:20Lawrence's ties to the performing arts serve him well in selling the song,
02:24while the video itself is colorful in that gloriously gaudy 90s way.
02:35The opening spray painting and paint splashes eventually shift to Joey in all of his glory.
02:40Decked out in the... we're gonna go with best fashion of the day, Lawrence is notably seen
02:45on the beach and walking the streets, running his hands through that perfectly coiffed hair.
02:50It's all done without a shred of irony, and we are here for it.
02:56Number 27, Aeroplane, Red Hot Chili Peppers.
03:00The Red Hot Chili Peppers have always possessed a funky and unique visual style,
03:03and this also translated into their music videos.
03:11Aeroplane feels indebted to the variety show landscape of 1970s TV,
03:16with tons of sequined jumpsuits and backup dancers.
03:19The energy is kinetic, while the colors are saturated in a way that's garish,
03:23but not entirely unpleasant.
03:30The group do their thing while the extras wave around paddles that
03:33seemingly simulate runway landing gear at an airport.
03:36Oh, and there are also trapeze artists for some reason,
03:39as well as a giant swimming pool, all while the Chili Peppers rock the house.
03:43We're flying aeroplane!
03:48Number 26, Rico, Suave, Gerardo.
03:52It's a song and accompanying video that became a punchline for the decade,
03:56and probably for good reason.
04:02The overarching legacy of the 90s had not yet been codified when Rico Suave by Gerardo was
04:06released back in 90. As a result, the video still feels very much indicative of the late 80s,
04:12with its gaze planted firmly upon selling sex.
04:19To be fair, both Gerardo and his backing dancers service the camera to over-the-top effect.
04:24Rico Suave will forever be a time capsule piece, however. It's a snapshot of aesthetic
04:29taste that's either very bad or so bad it's good, depending upon one's point of view.
04:33Rico Suave
04:40Number 25, Saketumi, Missy Elliott featuring Da Brat.
04:44Fans could always count upon the fertile creative imagination
04:46of Harold Hype-Williams when it came to outside-the-box music video ideas.
04:58How else could one explain the pitch meeting behind Saketumi?
05:02A collaboration between Missy misdemeanor Elliott and Da Brat.
05:11The pair's outfits apparently take cues from the Mega Man video game franchise,
05:15while their adventures in space have little if anything to do with the actual song.
05:20But who cares? Elliott and Da Brat totally sell the ridiculous concept.
05:27Even Lil' Kim shows up to the party, making Saketumi an
05:30off-the-wall video from first frame to finale.
05:33Number 24, No Limit, 2 Unlimited.
05:36The world of European dance music has, historically speaking,
05:39been an out-there place in the wildest way.
05:49The genre's stereotypically low sense of self-awareness has given us countless clips
05:53like No Limit from 2 Unlimited. We have to admit that the huge pinball set is imaginative,
05:58and 2 Unlimited makes the most of it with their dancing and pantomimes.
06:08Their wardrobe is luscious and leathery to boot,
06:11almost coming across like a proto-version of The Matrix. The end results are delivered
06:15straight-faced, and this lack of irony makes No Limit feel like something we dreamt up.
06:20But nope, it is very, very real.
06:23These two tracks from Green Day may be separate on their fourth album, Insomniac,
06:28but their combination for this music video makes them feel forever linked.
06:34We're never quite sure why the band takes a trip using a bulldozer or
06:38why they're chilling in a junkyard. The cutaways to an animal trying to get back on its feet
06:42are a bit of a stretch, but it's still a great way to show off the band's talent.
06:53while the switch from sepia to color feels like something out of The Wizard of Oz.
06:57The latter occurs when Brainstew shifts to jaded, and the video steps on the gas.
07:06The rest is mainly chaotic angles and close-ups, as the breakneck pace takes us to the end,
07:11leaving us breathless, winded, and still with a lot of questions.
07:22The Material Girl has graced us with some of the best music videos full stop.
07:34Is Nothing Really Matters one of those videos? Perhaps, if you're into the image of Madonna
07:39rocking a kimono in a fashion that just might have garnered criticism for cultural appropriation
07:43in the modern day.
07:44Elsewhere, Madonna is also seen holding this weird, see-through plastic container that's
07:56never really explained. The dancing is well-executed while simultaneously coming
08:01across as quirky and strange. The effect as a whole feels in line with the star's
08:05electro-dance-influenced Ray of Light era, so it succeeds in this sense. It's still weird, though.
08:1421. Hunter, Björk
08:27The inclusion of Björk on this list should come as a surprise to absolutely no one,
08:32since the Icelandic singer has basically made a career out of being indefinable.
08:36Hunter possesses the singular premise of giving its audience an eye full of her,
08:40front and center against a stark white backdrop.
08:44The music video's director, Paul White, employed a team of digital effects artists to overlay all
08:54sorts of effects over Björk's face. These effects haven't really aged well, unfortunately,
08:59and their initial newness now feels more quaint than anything revolutionary. The song is still
09:05great, of course, but the video arguably pales in comparison to some of Björk's older clips.
09:1020. Give It Away, Red Hot Chili Peppers
09:15Give It Away proved to be the Red Hot Chili Peppers' first major hit,
09:19reaching number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
09:28The concept of the bizarre music video stemmed from singer Anthony Kiedis,
09:32who wished to make a visually unique video that would stand apart from its contemporaries.
09:40A French fashion photographer named Stéphane Sednaoui was brought in,
09:47and he decided to paint the band members in a silver acrylic paint
09:50and shoot the video in black and white.
09:59The video also contains a wide array of different cinematic techniques,
10:02including superimposition and reversed footage.
10:10Warner Bros. hated it and wished for a more traditional music video.
10:23Regardless, it was a huge success and helped catapult the Peppers to stardom.
10:2819. You Can't Touch This, MC Hammer
10:32You Can't Touch This is one of the shining accomplishments of the 90s.
10:35The winner is MC Hammer.
10:39It was the first rap song to get a record of the year nomination at the Grammys,
10:43and its music video is an undeniable icon of pop culture.
10:54It reeks of the 90s,
10:55with the fashion and the super baggy pants being a particular standout.
11:06It also features Hammer performing some of his signature dance moves,
11:10including the running man and his famous hammer dance
11:13that sees him scuttling across the floor like a crab.
11:2390s rap doesn't get much more memorable than this.
11:2618. I Love You, Vanilla Ice
11:30Forget Ice Ice Baby, I Love You is where it's at.
11:40Released six months after the unbelievable success of Ice Ice Baby,
11:44on Valentine's Day 1991,
11:46I Love You is a sappy ballad that sees Ice trying to get a girl to fall in love with him.
11:56The video was actually directed by Michael Bay,
12:00who would later find fame through his bombastic action movies.
12:09And it's like a parody you would find in a movie.
12:12It's full of slow-motion shots of Ice looking contemplative and morose,
12:16lots of sensual shots of him and his girlfriend,
12:19and it's like a parody you would find in a movie.
12:26It's full of slow-motion shots of Ice trying to get a girl to fall in love with him.
12:30It's full of slow-motion shots of Ice trying to get a girl to fall in love with him.
12:33It's full of slow-motion shots of Ice trying to get a girl to fall in love with him.
12:38It looks like the video was made for 10 bucks,
12:40and it makes for some fantastically cheesy viewing.
12:5017. It's All Coming Back to Me Now, Celine Dion
12:55Written by Jim Steinman, It's All Coming Back to Me Now was inspired by Emily Bronte's
12:59Wuthering Heights and was originally performed by Pandora's Box before it was covered by
13:04Canadian icon Celine Dion. The full music video was more of a short film,
13:16spanning seven and a half minutes and containing many cinematic elements,
13:20including exterior shots of a gothic castle and a tragic motorcycle crash that results in a huge
13:26explosion. It's also filled with many over-the-top elements, including slow-motion running down long
13:32hallways, lots of sensual kissing, ghostly apparitions, and dramatic lightning strikes.
13:43It's all wonderfully campy, and you have to respect the craft.
13:5116. Coffee and TV – Blur
13:57Coffee and TV is a different sort of song from British rock band Blur,
14:00as it was sung by guitarist Graham Coxon rather than Damon Albarn.
14:11Its music video, while a spectacular piece of filmmaking that won several industry awards,
14:16is like a fever dream of weirdness.
14:21The concept is that Coxon has gone missing and appears on the side of a milk carton.
14:30The milk carton then grows arms and becomes sentient,
14:33embarking on an epic adventure to find the missing Coxon.
14:41It's amazing how Blur and the video's filmmakers managed to make audiences cry
14:46over a freaking milk carton, but such is the genius of this bizarre,
14:56adorable, and touching music video.
15:0515. Into Your Arms – The Lemonheads
15:08Serving as The Lemonheads' biggest hit, Into Your Arms spent a then-record nine straight
15:14weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
15:22Released in 1993, the song came to epitomize the alternative rock craze of the time.
15:34The video sees the band singing the song in the middle of the woods,
15:38and the camera literally never stops moving.
15:44It spins around the band members, it spins around people dancing in a square,
15:52and it spins around frontman Evan Dando as he sings into the camera.
16:03The video also serves as a physical representation of the early 90s alt-rock movement,
16:08complete with Dando's long hair and the drummer's red plaid shirt.
16:12What a great time capsule.
16:1414. I Want You Back – NSYNC
16:18Serving as the debut single of one of the biggest boy bands in history,
16:22I Want You Back was actually made into two videos.
16:31The second version was made for the British and American releases,
16:34and it's far more boring and traditional than the vastly superior original.
16:42This one was released in Germany, as NSYNC had signed with a German label.
16:55It sees the group dancing in a horribly green-screened space station,
16:59complete with laughably cheap mid-90s CGI and glorious 90s fashion.
17:04We don't know what's trippier, the green-screen work, the subpar CGI,
17:16or seeing Justin Timberlake as a 15-year-old kid.
17:2613. Thank You – Alanis Morissette
17:29Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette ruled the 90s,
17:33and Thank You proved both her fifth number one in Canada
17:36and her highest-charting single in the UK, peaking at number five.
17:48The success was likely aided by its unconventional music video,
17:51which featured a completely nude Morissette.
17:54She walks through various crowded areas and is continuously approached and embraced by strangers.
18:04Like Give It Away, the video was directed by Stéphane St-Denis,
18:08with the concept credited to Morissette herself.
18:16She told the Miami Herald that the video was quote,
18:19"...less about overt sexuality and more about the symbolism of being really raw
18:23and naked and intimate in all these environments where you seemingly need protection."
18:3412. Barbie Girl – Aqua
18:37Few songs and music videos represent the 90s better than Aqua's Barbie Girl.
18:46This was pure, unashamed bubblegum pop,
18:49and it may be one of the catchiest songs ever written.
18:58The video is hilariously tongue-in-cheek,
19:00complete with an opening declaration that it was filmed in Aquascope.
19:04If this was a legitimate piece of work, it could very well be the worst music video ever made.
19:17It looks cheap, it's filled with corny transitions and bright, gaudy colors,
19:22and the band members, particularly Renée, give numerous meme-worthy glances to the camera.
19:27But the intentional corniness is part of the charm.
19:30It's goofy, it's silly, and above all else, it's tons of fun.
19:4611. The Bad Touch – Bloodhound Gang
19:49Another glorious bit of dance pop, The Bad Touch proved an enormous hit in Europe,
19:54peaking at number one in eight different countries.
20:01And the music video, while very famous, also attracted some controversy.
20:08It sees the band dressed in monkey-rat suits,
20:10running around Paris kidnapping and otherwise mistreating various people.
20:15The video was deemed insensitive by various groups,
20:18and in fact, MTV was called out for airing it at all by GLAAD.
20:22An edited version was then released, but even it's still ridiculous.
20:26Not as ridiculous as the lyrics, though.
20:3810. Cotton Eye Joe – Rednecks
20:41In 1994, a Swedish Eurodance group by the name of Rednecks covered the
20:46traditional folk song, Cotton Eye Joe, in a video.
20:49Matching southern twang and instruments like banjos and fiddles, with their brand of techno.
21:02The unique concoction proved infectious, and the novelty of both the song and
21:06accompanying music video helped Cotton Eye Joe reach number one in numerous countries around Europe.
21:20The video sees the band members performing at a raging barn rave.
21:30And it mirrors the song's unique blending of genres and styles,
21:34proving to be just as fun as a real barn dance.
21:449. Groove Is In The Heart – D-Lite
21:48Serving as this dance group's debut single, Groove Is In The Heart is widely considered to
21:52be one of the best songs of the 90s, and it made D-Lite one of the world's most popular one-hit wonders.
22:04The accompanying music video harkens back to the psychedelia of the 1960s,
22:08depicting the band superimposed over shifting shapes and popping bright colors.
22:18Some may ask why? We ask why not?
22:30The unique style and theme made the video stand out among its contemporaries,
22:35and it somehow manages to generate nostalgia for both the 60s and the 90s at the same time.
22:478. Baby Got Back – Sir Mix-A-Lot
22:51Along with You Can't Touch This, Baby Got Back serves as the quintessential
22:55representation of early 90s mainstream hip-hop.
23:02Both songs were huge hits, both were wondrously corny,
23:06and both came equipped with silly music videos.
23:09This one sees Sir Mix-A-Lot standing atop a giant butt,
23:20and features many gratuitous shots of dancing women and their shaking behinds.
23:24Even the turntable has a little butt on it.
23:32While somewhat tame by today's WAP and Anaconda standards,
23:36this music video generated some controversy for its overt sexuality,
23:40and was shortly banned by MTV in the early 90s.
23:50Today, it is rightfully seen as a classic.
23:547. Quit Playing Games With My Heart – Backstreet Boys
23:58Serving as NSYNC's biggest rivals,
24:00the Backstreet Boys were the quintessential boy band of the 90s.
24:06And this served as their most successful single in America,
24:14peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
24:22The concept behind the music video is simple,
24:25the Backstreet Boys dance around in the rain and eventually take their shirts off,
24:29an idea that nearly got the video banned from MTV,
24:32who were feeling particularly prudish that day.
24:36Along the way, viewers are treated to many corny fade transitions,
24:45close-ups of emotional and sexy faces,
24:48and the Backstreet Boys dragging their hands through their wet hair.
24:58It's perhaps the most overdramatic music video in history,
25:02and it tells you all you need to know about the mid-90s boy band boom.
25:136. Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
25:16Black Hole Sun was released at the height of the grunge movement,
25:20and it is very evident.
25:28Aside from the sludgy production and dark lyrics,
25:31the song is accompanied by a creepy music video
25:34with tons of surreal imagery and a horrifying concept.
25:42Everyone has chilling and exaggerated smiles plastered on their distorting faces,
25:47people sit on all fours watching a static TV,
25:50and little girls watch Barbies burn on the barbecue.
25:54And that's all before the sky turns red and a literal Black Hole Sun destroys everyone.
26:06It's brilliantly imaginative, but man is it ever creepy and weird.
26:10This is mid-90s rock personified,
26:12and it serves as both a cultural icon and a fantastic piece of music.
26:185. What's Up With You – Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson
26:23Bear with us because we swear we are not making this up.
26:33Released in 1993, What's Up With You is a song about a man who's in love with a girl,
26:38but he can't get her to love him back.
26:40It's a song about a man who's in love with a girl,
26:42but he can't get her to love him back.
26:45Released in 1993, What's Up With You is sung by both Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson,
26:50and it was included on Murphy's third studio album.
26:54Oh yeah, Murphy had a brief music career spanning the mid-80s to the early 90s.
27:05Like Black Hole Sun, What's Up With You personifies the 90s,
27:08just in a very different way.
27:10For one thing, it's sung by Eddie Murphy and Michael Jackson.
27:15For another, there's that weird spelling of the title, which just screams early 90s.
27:24Finally, there's Murphy's stellar 90s fashion and cheesy green screen work.
27:29Everything about this is ridiculous.
27:38Very memorable and entertaining, yes, but ridiculous.
27:44A
27:59glorious bit of tongue-in-cheek,
28:00I'm Too Sexy is a dance-pop masterpiece that parodies narcissism and self-aggrandizement.
28:06I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt, so sexy.
28:12Wright said Fred is composed of brothers Fred and Richard Fairbrass,
28:15and the idea for the song reportedly came from the brothers' experience running a gym
28:19and witnessing the narcissism on display.
28:22And the music video is exactly what you'd expect.
28:25It contains ridiculous outfits, shirt-ripping, lots of bare chests, popping muscles,
28:31and even a runway with bikini-clad women snapping photos of the strutting and gyrating
28:35Fairbrass brothers.
28:46The video ends with a knowing and somewhat self-deprecating smile,
28:50A smile that says everything about the three minutes of goofiness that came before it.
28:59Beloved actor David Hasselhoff has toyed with music throughout the decades,
29:03and in 1997, he released his ninth, yes ninth, studio album, titled Hooked on a Feeling.
29:11Included on said album is the title track, a cover of the B.J. Thomas and Blue Swan
29:16It was accompanied by what is either the best or worst music video ever made.
29:29The video is filled with some truly hilarious green screen work,
29:33multiple shots of the Hoff flying through the air,
29:36and a scene in which he and his wife are on a plane.
29:39The video is filled with some truly hilarious green screen work,
29:42multiple shots of the Hoff flying through the air,
29:52and even Hasselhoff interacting with computer-generated cubes of the music video itself.
29:57It's probably a joke, but we honestly can't tell.
30:01Either way, it could very well be the silliest thing we've ever seen.
30:09One of the most popular Eurodance songs of the 90s,
30:12One of the most popular Eurodance songs of the 90s,
30:17Blue Daba Dee is a confounding yet incredibly entertaining song.
30:22Such adjectives could also be used to describe its music video.
30:32Reportedly made by five people in a garage,
30:34the music video is almost entirely computer-generated,
30:37and tells the story about blue aliens abducting lead singer Jeffrey J
30:42and taking him to their planet.
30:50He's forced to put on a concert for the alien residents,
30:53and the other members eventually rescue him using cheesy martial arts and fancy superpowers.
31:05It's a complete fever dream of a music video,
31:07and it's made all the more memorable owing to its cheap CGI.
31:11It's silly, but it's also a masterpiece of late 90s music.
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31:37Number one, Numb, U2.
31:40It's amazing to consider that such a popular band can produce such experimental material.
31:53Numb is a weird bit of industrial rock,
31:56complete with sound effects, a grating guitar note,
32:00and a droning vocal performance by The Edge.
32:08The music video consists of The Edge sitting in a black room
32:13and staring into the camera while a strobing light plays across his face.
32:18He's then forced to suffer feet and fingers prodding his face,
32:28getting repeatedly slapped by a child,
32:30and even having his face be crudely tied up with a thin rope
32:40before being pushed over by Larry Mullen Jr.
32:50The combination of grating music and violent visuals is both disturbing and off-putting.
32:55It's easily the most bizarre thing that U2 ever did.
32:58Do you remember watching these videos when they originally dropped?
33:01Let us know in the comments.
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