Janet Jackson ’s hypnotic choreography with military-like precision makes “ Rhythm Nation ” one of the best music videos of the ‘80s. Filmed during a rocky time in the band’s career, Queen were able to produce a unique and uplifting music video that was one part serious, one part poking fun at themselves. We give props to Queen for their tongue-in-cheek spoof and theatrical ballet talents. Either way, Mercury was a pioneer, as an artist as well as a gay man in popular culture. Great Britain saw the band’s true intentions of parodying the popular British soap opera Coronation Street, but the rest of the world (specifically the United States) equated Freddie Mercury ’s drag as his coming out. Your perspective on “ I Want To Break Free ” by Queen probably depends on where you live. Crawling out of a bathtub fully nude, no other artist could embody the aesthetic of sexuality better than Prince himself. The steamy visual for “ When Doves Cry ” wasn’t selling sex-it was selling Prince.

A provocative pioneer of gender ambiguity, Prince flawlessly used music videos as a means to further solidify his public image and aura. Prince ’s career and the rise of music videos couldn’t be more perfectly aligned. “When Doves Cry” – Prince & The Revolution Without these 15 music videos, the ‘80s wouldn’t have been the cultural reset we know it as. With a blank slate, artists could visually represent their sound and style more easily. The music video was like adding another dimension to the universe of the music industry.

Read more: 10 artists who brilliantly directed their own music videos With the launch of MTV in 1981, some artists used the visual art form to sell sex, youth and anything eye-catching, while others used it to visually define themselves within the music business.

The 1980s were the big bang of music videos -a cosmic explosion of creativity, technology and straight-up weirdness.

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