1. ‘Thriller‘ by Michael Jackson
From the moment it was released in December 1983, ‘Thriller’ was destined to become one of the most legendary music videos of all time. Nearly 40 years later, it remains profoundly influential and supremely audacious, even to contemporary eyes. Burnishing its pedigree with loving allusions to seminal horror films—Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, Hitchcock’s Vertigo and director John Landis's own then-recent hit An American Werewolf in London, Jackson’s 13-minute chiller melds creepy authenticity with campy fun to an astonishingly successful degree. How successful? A behind-the-scenes home-video release of it sold over 9 million copies, and it’s currently the only music video preserved in the Library of Congress National Film Registry. Only a pop star with MJ’s vision could have pulled it off.
