MTV's Top 500 Videos Of All Time Aired on May 1997

[galvanize]

Yep, it was aired around ten years ago, around Memorial Day weekend. Of course, MTV did their FINAL all time 100 Greatest Video List in 1999 as you know, but it's nice to see they actually did a 500 All Time Greatest 10 years ago!

MTV's top 500 Videos Of All Time Aired around this time in May (Which eventually they did ANOTHER Top 500 of all time in November!!!):


1. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit (92)
2. Michael Jackson - Thriller
3. Guns N' Roses - November Rain (92)
4. Madonna - Vogue (91)
5. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Under The Bridge (92)
6. Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer (86)
7. Boyz II Men - I'll Make Love To You (94)
8. Van Halen - Jump
9. Alanis Morissette - Ironic (96)
10. Madonna - Like A Virgin
11. Aerosmith - Janie's Got A Gun (91)
12. Dire Straits - Money For Nothing
13. Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You (92)
14. Pearl Jam - Jeremy (92)
15. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
16. U2 - With Or Without You (87)
17. Metallica - Enter Sandman (91)
18. Duran Duran - Hungry Like The Wolf
19. Dr. Dre - Nuthin' But A "G" Thang (93)
20. R.E.M. - Losing My Religion (91)
21. ZZ Top - Legs
22. nine inch nails - closer
23. Madonna - Like A Prayer (89)
24. Run DMC w/ Aerosmith - Walk This Way (86)
25. Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise (95)
26. Police - Every Breath You Take
27. Def Leppard - Pour Some Sugar On Me
28. Mariah Carey f/ Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day
29. INXS - Need You Tonight/Mediate
30. Beastie Boys - Sabotage (94)
31. Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark
32. TLC - Waterfalls (95)
33. Van Halen - Right Now (92)
34. a-ha - Take On Me
35. Guns N' Roses - Welcome To The Jungle
36. Smashing Pumpkins - Tonight, Tonight (96)
37. Aerosmith - Cryin' (93)
38. Michael Jackson - Beat It
39. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Give It Away
40. Bon Jovi - Wanted Dead Or Alive (87)
41. Boyz II Men - End Of The Road (92)
42. Robert Palmer - Addicted To Love (86)
43. Blind Melon - No Rain (93)
44. Janet Jackson - Again (93)
45. Beastie Boys - You Gotta Fight For Your Right To Party
46. Madonna - Express Yourself
47. John Cougar Mellencamp - Jack & Diane
48. Nirvana - Heart-Shaped Box (93)
49. MC Hammer - U Can't Touch This (90)
50. U2 - One (92)
51. Aerosmith - Crazy
52. Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself
53. Salt-N-Pepa - Whatta Man (94)
54. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Free Fallin'
55. Prince - 1999
56. Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
57. 2Pac & Dr. Dre - California Love (96)
58. The Cars - You Might Think
59. Stone Temple Pilots - Plush (93)
60. Janet Jackson - Love Will Never Do Without You (95)
61. Motley Crue - Home Sweet Home
62. Coolio - Fantastic Voyage (94)
63. Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Wanna Have Fun
64. Madonna - Material Girl
65. Pearl Jam - Even Flow (92)
66. Talking Heads - Once In A Lifetime
67. Hootie & The Blowfish - Only Wanna Be With You (95)
68. David Lee Roth - California Girls
69. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Gin And Juice (94)
70. Metallica - One
71. George Michael - Faith
72. Alanis Morissette - You Oughta Know (95)
73. Duran Duran - Rio
74. Bryan Adams - Everything I Do (I Do It For You) (91)
75. Nirvana - Come As You Are (92)
76. Prince - Little Red Corvette
77. Tom Petty - Don't Come Around Here No More
78. Mariah Carey - Someday (91)
79. Live - Lightning Crashes (95)
80. ZZ Top - Sharp Dressed Man
81. U2 - New Year's Day
82. Smashing Pumpkins - 1979 (96)
83. Herbie Hancock - Rock-It
84. Madonna - Papa Don't Preach (86)
85. Guns N' Roses - Paradise City
86. Janet Jackson - That's The Way Love Goes (93)
87. Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven (92)
88. Go Go's - Our Lips Are Sealed
89. Bush - Glycerine (96)
90. Don Henley - Boys Of Summer
91. LL Cool J - Mama Said Knock You Out
92. Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer (87)
93. Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way
94. No Doubt - Don't Speak (96)
95. nine inch nails - Head Like A Hole
96. Bruce Springsteen - Born In The U.S.A.
97. En Vogue - My Lovin' (You're Never Gonna Get It)
98. Def Leppard - Photograph
99. Neil Young - This Note's For You
100. Fugees - Killing Me Softly (96)
101. Madonna - Open Your Heart (87)
102. Metallica - The Unforgiven
103. Genesis - Land Of Confusion (87)
104. Salt-N-Pepa - Shoop
105. U2 - Pride (In The Name Of Love)
106. Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun
107. Whitney Houston - I Wanna Dance With Somebody (87)
108. Green Day - Basketcase
109. Guns N' Roses - Patience
110. George Michael - Freedom
111. The Clash - Rock The Casbah
112. Bone Thugs-N-Harmony - The Crossroads
113. Counting Crows - Mr. Jones (94)
114. Def Leppard - Hysteria
115. Janet Jackson - If
116. R.E.M. - Everybody Hurts
117. Eurythmics - Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
118. Aerosmith - Dude Looks Like A Lady
119. Mariah Carey - Fantasy
120. Van Halen - Hot For Teacher
121. Naughty By Nature - Hip Hop Hooray
122. Nirvana - In Bloom
123. Sinead O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U
124. Rolling Stones - Start Me Up
125. The Offspring - Self Esteem
126. U2 - Mysterious Ways
127. Phil Collins - In The Air Tonight
128. Michael Jackson - Bad
129. Smashing Pumpkins - Today
130. Young MC - Bust A Move
131. Tom Petty - You Got Lucky
132. Living Colour - Cult Of Personality
133. Alanis Morissette - Hand In My Pocket
134. Aerosmith - Amazing
135. Billy Joel - Uptown Girl
136. Boyz II Men - It's So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday
137. Simple Minds - Don't You Forget About Me
138. Stone Temple Pilots - Interstate Love Song
139. Prince - When Doves Cry
140. Vanilla Ice - Ice Ice Baby
141. Pearl Jam - Alive
142. Talking Heads - Burning Down The House
143. Weezer - Buddy Holly
144. Dr. Dre - Keep Their Heads Ringin'
145. Madonna - Borderline
146. Whitesnake - Here I Go Again (87)
147. TLC - Creep (95)
148. Tears For Fears - Everybody Wants To Rule The World
149. Mariah Carey - Emotions
150. INXS - New Sensation
151. Stray Cats - Rock This Town
152. Snoop Doggy Dogg - What's My Name
153. Billy Idol - Cradle Of Love (90)
154. Bryan Adams - Summer of '69
155. Oasis - Wonderwall (96)
156. Paula Abdul - Straight Up (89)
157. Metallica - Nothing Else Matters
158. Pink Floyd - Learning To Fly
159. Huey Lewis & The News - I Want A New Drug
160. Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet With Butterfly Wings ('95)
161. George Michael - Father Figure (88)
162. Police - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic
163. Whitney Houston - How Will I Know
164. Green Day - When I Come Around (95)
165. Toni Basil - Mickey
166. Steve Winwood - Higher Love (86)
167. Jane's Addiction - Been Caught Stealin' (91)
168. David Lee Roth - Just A Gigolo
169. Janet Jackson - Miss You Much (89)
170. Frankie Goet To Hollywood - Relax
171. Blackstreet - No Diggity
172. U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For
173. USA For Africa - We Are The World
174. ZZ Top - Gimme All Your Lovin'
175. Tone Loc - Wild Thing
176. Bon Jovi - You Give Love A Bad Name
177. Nirvana - All Apologies
178. The Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian
179. John Cougar Mellencamp - Pink Houses
180. Boyz II Men - Motownphilly
181. Faith No More - Epic
182. Men At Work - Down Under
183. Hootie & The Blowfish - Hold My Hand
184. INXS - Devil Inside
185. Beck - Loser
186. Heart - Alone
187. Aerosmith - Sweet Emotion
188. House Of Pain - Jump Around
189. Billy Idol - White Wedding
190. Foo Fighters - Big Me
191. Michael Jackson - Leave Me Alone
192. Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart
193. Tom Petty - Mary Jane's Last Dance
194. LL Cool J - Doin' It
195. Bruce Sprinsteen - Glory Days
196. Dexy's Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
197. Mariah Carey - Dreamlover
198. Joan Jett - I Love Rock & Roll
199. Smashing Pumpkins - Disarm
200. DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince - Parents Just Don't Understand
201. The Romantics - What I Like About You
202. Guns N' Roses - Don't Cry
203. 311 - Down
204. R.E.M. - One I Love
205. Human League - Don't You Want Me
206. Janet Jackson - Rhythm Nation
207. David Bowie - China Girl
208. Black Crowes - Hard To Handle
209. Alanis Morissette - You Learn
210. B-52's - Love Shack
211. U2 - Sunday Bloody Sunday
212. Poison - Every Rose Has Its Thorn
213. No Doubt - Spiderwebs
214. George Thorogood - Bad To The Bone
215. Toni Braxton - Un-break My Heart
216. Peter Gabriel - Big Time
217. Madonna - Into The Groove
218. EMF - Unbelievable
219. Stone Temple Pilots - Creep
220. Motley Crue - Don't Go Away Mad (Just Go Away)
221. George Michael - I Want Your Sex
222. Naughty By Nature - O.P.P.
223. Bush - Comedown
224. Twisted Sister - We're Not Gonna Take It
225. INXS - What You Need
226. Mariah Carey - I'll Be There
227. Dr. Dre - Dre Day
228. Adam Ant - Goody Two Shoes
229. Tom Petty - Into The Great Wide Open
230. Skid Row - I Remember You
231. Go-Go's - We Got The Beat
232. LL Cool J - Loungin'
233. David Bowie - Let's Dance
234. Bryan Adams - Cut's Like A Knife
235. Metallica - Wherever I May Roam
236. Fleetwood Mac - Hold Me
237. Green Day - Longview
238. Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey
239. Janet Jackson - Escapade
240. Billy Joel - We Didn't Start The Fire
241. INXS - Never Tear Us Apart
242. 2Pac - Dear Mama
243. Aerosmith - Angel
244. Thomas Dolby - She Blinded Me With Science
245. Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It
246. Depeche Mode - Enjoy The Silence
247. Mariah Carey - Always Be My Baby
248. Bruce Springsteen - I'm On Fire
249. Tears For Fears - Shout
250. Beck - Where It's At
251. Madonna - Lucky Star
252. Billy Idol - Mony Mony
253. Toni Braxton - You're Making Me High
254. Nirvana - Lithium
255. Joe Jackson - Steppin Out
256. U2 - Where The Streets Have No Name
257. Heart - These Dreams
258. Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy
259. Def Leppard - Love Bites
260. Offspring - Come Out And Play
261. Phil Collins - Sussudio
262. R. Kelly - Down Low
263. Police - Roxanne
264. Michael/Janet Jackson - Scream
265. John Cougar Mellencamp - Hurts So Good
266. J. Geils Band - Centerfold
267. LL Cool J - Hey Lover
268. Prince - Kiss
269. Duran Duran - Is There Something I Should Know
270. Jesus Jones - Right Here, Right Now
271. Guns n Roses - Knockin' On Heaven's Door
272. Hall & Oates - Man Eater
273. Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do
274. The Clash - Should I Stay Or Should I Go
275. Tom Petty/Stevie Nicks - Stop Draggin My Heart Around
276. nine inch nails - Down In It
277. Squeeze - Tempted
278. Pat Benatar - Shadows In The Dark
279. Stray Cats - Stray Cat Strut
280. No Doubt - Just A Girl
281. Dire Straits - Walk Of Life
282. Madonna - Oh Father
283. Bush - Everything Zen
284. Bangles - Manic Monday
285. Aerosmith - Rag Doll
286. Huey Lewis & The News - Heart Of Rock & Roll
287. Thompson Twins - Hold Me Now
288. Motley Crue - Same Ol' Situation
289. Coolio - 1, 2, 3, 4
290. U2 - Two Hearts Beat As One
291. Eurythmics - Would I Lie To You
292. Boyz II Men - Water Runs Dry
293. Paula Abdul - Opposite's Attract
294. Band Aid - Do They Know It's Xmas
295. Alice In Chains - Man In The Box
296. Janet Jackson - Control
297. The Fixx - One Thing Leads To Another
298. Sting - If You Love Somebody
299. 2Pac - I Ain't Mad At Cha
300. Dave Matthews Band - What Would You Say
301. Whitesnake - Is It Love
302. Notorious B.I.G. - Big Poppa
303. Queensryche - Silent Lucidity
304. Tubes - Talk To Ya Later
305. Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet
306. Def Leppard - Armageddon It
307. Police - Synchronicity
308. Wham - Careless Whisper
309. Guns N Roses - You Could Be Mine
310. Mariah Carey - Vision Of Love
311. Cranberries - Zombie
312. Bryan Adams - Run To You
313. Poison - Nothin But A Good Time
314. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Higher Ground
315. Blondie - Heart Of Glass
316. Van Halen - Panama
317. Madonna - Take A Bow
318. Culture Club - Karma Chameleon
319. Black Crowes - She Talks To Angels
320. Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend
321. Dr. Dre - Let Me Ride
322. Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine
323. Banarama - Cruel Summer
324. Aerosmith - What It Takes
325. Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney - Say, Say, Say
326. Seal - Kiss From A Rose
327. New Order - True Faith
328. Tom Petty - I Won't Back Down
329. Foreigner - I Want To Know What Love Is
330. Janet Jackson - You Want This
331. Ice Cube - It Was A Good Day
332. Los Lobos - La Bamba
333. INXS - The One Thing
334. George Harrison - Got My Mind Set On You
335. Alice In Chains - Would
336. Whitney Houston - So Emotional
337. The Cure - Just Like Heaven
338. White Zombie - More Human Than Human
339. Billy Joel - Tell Her About It
340. Beastie Boys - Sure Shot
341. Kriss Kross - Jump
342. Blues Traveler - Runaround
343. Missing Persons - Destination Unknown
344. Madonna - Cherish
345. Naughty By Nature - Feel Me Flow
346. Motley Crue - Dr. Feelgood
347. Pet Shop Boys - West End Girls
348. Live - I Alone
349. Steve Winwood - Roll With It
350. Aerosmith - Love In An Elevator
351. Scandal - The Warrior
352. Ozzy Osbourne - Mama, I'm Coming Home
353. TLC - Red Light Special
354. Men At Work - Who Can It Be Now
355. Oasis - Champagne Supernova
356. The Cars - Magic
357. Eurythmics - Who's That Girl
358. Temple Of The Dog - Hunger Strike
359. Duran Duran - Girls On Film
360. Mariah Carey - Can't let Go
361. Snoop Doggy Dogg - Doggy Dog World
362. Steve Perry - Oh Sherrie
363. Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus
364. U2 - Desire
365. Big Country - In A Big Country
366. Skeelo - I Wish
367. Van Halen - Dreams
368. Madonna - Burning Up
369. A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran
370. Red Hot Chili Peppers - Soul To Squeeze
371. Tracy Chapman - Fast Car
372. Genesis - Invisible Touch
373. Stone Temple Pilots - Vaseline
374. Eric Clapton - Layla
375. Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
376. Def Leppard - Animal
377. 2Pac - I Get Around
378. Spin Doctors - Two Princes
379. Police - Wrapped Around Your Finger
380. Talking Heads - And She Was
381. Brandy - Sittin Up In My Room
382. Beastie Boys - No Sleep Till Brooklyn
383. .38 Special - Hold On Loosely
384. nine inch nails - Hurt
385. ABC - Look Of Love
386. John Cougar Mellencamp - Rock In The USA
387. Bush - Machinehead
388. Kim Carnes - Bette Davis Eyes
389. B-52's - Roam
390. Rage Against The Machine - Bulls On Parade
391. Sheryl Crow - Leaving Las Vegas
392. Billy Joel - Allentown
393. Soul Asylum - Runaway Train
394. Nena - 99 Luftballoons
395. En Vogue - Giving Him Something He Can Feel
396. Phil Collins - Can't Hurry Love
397. Prince - U Got The Look
398. Georgia Satellites - Keep Your Hands To Yourself
399. Madonna - La Isla Bonita
400. Cypress Hill - Insane In The Brain
401. R.E.M. - It's The End Of The World
402. Squeeze - Black Coffee In Bed
403. David Bowie - Modern Love
404. Def Leppard - Rock Of Ages
405. Bobby Brown - My Prerogative
406. Dave Matthews Band - Crash Into Me
407. Janet Jackson - Black Cat
408. Naked Eyes - Always Something There To Remind Me
409. Van Halen - When It's Love
410. Kinks - Come Dancing
411. LL Cool J - Goin Back To Cali
412. Bon Jovi - I'll Be There For You
413. Madness - Our House
414. John Mellencamp - Small Town
415. En Vogue - Free Your Mind
416. John Waite - Change
417. Aerosmith - The Other Side
418. Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
419. Haircut 100 - Love Plus One
420. Rolling Stones - Love Is Strong
421. Corey Hart - Sunglasses At Night
422. Beastie Boys - Pass The Mic
423. Digital Underground - The Humpty Dance
424. Whitney Houston - I'm Every Woman
425. The Who - Eminence Front
426. Love And Rockets - So Alive
427. Michael Jackson - Remember The Time
428. Stevie Nicks - Stand Back
429. Black Crowes - Jealous Again
430. Puff Daddy - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down
431. Tom Petty - Jammin Me
432. Duran Duran - Reflex
433. Public Enemy - 911 Is A Joke
434. Sting - We'll Be Together
435. Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me
436. Cardigans - Lovefool
437. Guns N Roses - Estranged
438. Wang Chung - Everybody Have Fun Tonight
439. Madonna - Who's That Girl
440. Genesis - Abacab
441. Mariah Carey - Anytime You Need A Friend
442. Musical Youth - Pass The Dutchie
443. Wallflowers - One Headlight
444. Go-Go's - Vacation
445. Prince - Rasberry Beret
446. Arrested Development - Mr. Wendal
447. Talking Heads - Wild Wild Life
448. Notorious B.I.G. - Hypnotize
449. Robert Palmer - Simply Irresistable
450. Pretenders - Brass In Pocket
451. Janet Jackson - Pleasure Principle
452. Loverboy - Working For The Weekend
453. Motley Crue - Without You
454. Madonna - Human Nature
455. Crowded House - Don't Dream It's Over
456. John Mellencamp - Crumblin Down
457. En Vogue - Don't Let Go (Love)
458. Wham - Everything She Wants
459. Tom Petty - Runnin Down A Dream
460. Tina Turner - Better Be Good To Me
461. Def Leppard - Foolin
462. Paula Abdul - Cold Hearted
463. Jewel - You Were Meant For Me
464. Thompson Twins - Lies
465. Michael Jackson - Black Or White
466. Pat Benatar - Love Is A Battlefield
467. Blondie - Rapture
468. Black Crowes - Remedy
469. Devo - Whip It
470. Don Henley - All She Wants To Do Is Dance
471. Duran Duran - Save A Prayer
472. Sheryl Crow - If It Makes You Happy
473. UB40 - Red Red Wine
474. David Bowie/Mick Jagger - Dancing In The Streets
475. Aerosmith - Living On The Edge
476. Modern English - I Melt With You
477. C&C Music Factory - Gonna Make You Sweat
478. Collective Soul - Shine
479. Michael Jackson - The Way You Make Me Feel
480. J. Geils Band - Freeze Frame
481. Hootie & The Blowfish - Let Her Cry
482. Men Without Hats - Safety Dance
483. Fugees - Ready Or Not
484. Madonna - Live To Tell
485. Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
486. Stone Temple Pilots - Big Empty
487. Chris Isaak - Wicked Game
488. Sammy Hagar - I Can't Drive 55
489. 311 - All Mixed Up
490. Arrested Development - Tennessee
491. Simple Minds - Alive And Kicking
492. Journey - Separate Ways
493. Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl
494. Pretenders - Back On The Chain Gang
495. R. Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly
496. Beastie Boys - She's On It
497. Eddie Money - Take Me Home Tonight
498. Janet Jackson - Nasty
499. R.E.M. - Stand
500. 'Til Tuesday - Voices Carry

[🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾]

That is quite a list! Many of those videos are actually quite good. Certain ones on the list I would rank a little lower and/or higher. But it's decent.

[cartman2002]

I actually tape recorded both lists on my old VCR in 1997 and I still have the list along with an MTV 300 list from May 1991 and 5 addictions of VH1's History Of Music Video from A to Z between 1995 to 1998.

The only list I don't have on tape was the MTV2 A to Z marathon because I don't have the station on the cable system.

[joker]

Thanks for posting this!

[tortuga]

Why is "Wicked Game" so low? :(

[areyoureadytojump]

Thanks!