You could spend days searching YouTube for good music videos. I have saved you time and trouble by listing some great ones here. Most of these are performance videos but a few are the original videos made to promote the songs.

Antony & the Johnsons - You are my Sister
weird-looking guy with an extremely haunting voice

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
My God they are insane, and insanely good

Arcade Fire - Rebellion (Lies)
take a walk with the kids from Montreal...

Arcade Fire - Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
who knew Regine could kick ass on the drums?

Asobi Seksu - Thursday
they call this style of alternative music "shoegaze"

At The Drive-In - One-Armed Scissor
damn they were good...two lead guys, perhaps the only rockers named Omar and Cedric, are  now known as the Mars Volta

The Band - The Weight
from The Last Waltz, Wintergarden, San Francisco, 1976

Band-Aid - Do They Know It's Christmas?
Bob Geldof's first foray into consciousness- and fundraising, 1984, with an all-star 80s lineup including  U2, Spandeau Ballet, Duran Duran, The Style Council, the Police, Big Country, etc.

The Beatles - All My Loving, Till There Was You, She Loves You, I Wanna Hold Your Hand
first US appearance, January 1964,  on the Ed Sullivan Show, complete with screaming girls, surprised moptops, and a bemused Mr. Ed

The Beatles - Help!
in the studio, having fun with three-part harmony

Beck - Lost Cause (other version here)
Is that what you thought love was for? From the best break-up album ever, Sea Change

Beirut - Postcards from Italy
no guitars, just ukeleles, trumpets,  cello and THAT VOICE on this phenomenal debut by 19-year-old Zach Condon

The Black Heart Procession - Not Just Words
a striking song by a new band from San Diego

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Whatever Happened to My Rock 'n Roll? (punk song)
not a punk song but loud and fast anyhow

Blur - Tender
Love's the greatest thing/that we have

Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Cursed Sleep
one of the best songs I have heard all year, guy's real name is Will Oldham

British Sea Power - Apologies to Insect Life
yes it's terribly strange and AWFULLY British and I love it

Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth
cowboy hat on Stills and ridiculous sideburns on Young, 1967

Johnny Cash - Hurt
his incredible cover of the Nine Inch Nails song, set to the greatest music video of all time

Johnny and June Carter Cash - Jackson
You saw Joaquin and Reese do it in the movie, now see the real deal

The Clash - London Calling
I suppose there are better rock songs in existence but I can't think of one

The Clash - This is Radio Clash
let's go shoplifting with Joe and Mick

Elvis Costello - Radio, Radio
the king of the geeks, 1979

Elvis Costello - Oliver's Army
a perfect song for our mercenary times

Elvis Costello - Every Day I Write the Book
with Costello's huge catalog, it's hard to pick a favorite, but this is right up there

Elvis Costello - Alison
from VH1's Storytellers, a lovely slow version, with Elvis explaining the genesis of the song

Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - Down by the River
incredible guitarwork by Still s and Young, and they're so young they look like hippie-babies, and yeah, that's David Steinberg introducing them

Ray Davies - Lola
solo acoustic version of the Kinks classic, backed up only by a chick on piano

John Doe - Mama Don't
one of my hugest crushes ever, the punk godfather turned folkie

eels - Novocaine for the Soul
flying around their only real hit

eels - Hey Man (Now You're Really Living)
world's cheapest music vidoe, hilarious! no flying around this time...

The Fiery Furnaces - Tropical Iceland
one of their few songs that approaches approachability

Fleetwood  Mac - Say You Love Me
funny to see this sung by a bunch of people who used to sleep with each other in random combinations, Lindsey on some smokin' banjo

Folk Implosion - Natural One
featuring Lou Barlow, formerly of Dinosaur, Jr. and Sebadoh. I love this riff

For Squirrels - Mighty K.C.
one of my favorite tributes to Kurt Cobain...By the grace of God go I/into the great unknown

Fountains of Wayne - Stacy's Mom
OK, it's overplayed, but still hilarious

Gang of Four - I Found that Essence Rare
quality's not so great but what a thrill to see this

Nina Gordon - Tonight and the Rest of my Life
this is all I wanna feel tonight...

Gorillaz - Dirty Harry
huge bunch of kids backing up our favorite cartoon band

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five - The Message
one of the first rap songs, and one of the best...it's like a jungle sometimes/it makes me wonder/how I keep from going under

P.J. Harvey - Down by the Water
Big fish little fish/swimming in the water

P.J. Harvey - A Perfect Day Elise
more Polly Jean

Kristin Hersh - Your Ghost
acoustic version of one of the loveliest break-up songs ever

The Hold Steady - Chips Ahoy
strong song, great lyrics, funny video

Billie Holiday - Strange Fruit
powerful anti-lynching song with lyrics from a poem by Abel Meeropol, who adopted Ethel and Julius Rosenberg's kids after their parents' executions

I'm From Barcelona - We're from Barcelona
the year's big singalong, just adorable!

Indigo Girls - Closer to Fine
the original video of this phenomenal song, 1989

The Jam - That's Entertainment
acoustic

The Knife - Silent Shout
my favorite song of 2006, by the elusive (and frequently masked) brother-sister duo from Sweden

The Knife - Heartbeats
if you've only heard José González's cover, you should check out the original, it could not be more different

Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins - Big Guns
chick has a helluva voice

The Libertines - Can't Stand Me Now
high-energy band produced by Mick Jones of the Clash, now unfortunately broken up into Babyshambles (Pete Doherty) and Dirty Pretty Things (Carl Barat)

Lone Justice - Shelter
I hope I'm related to this girl, Maria McKee (that was my father's mother's maiden name)

Loretta Lynn and Jack White - Portland, Oregon
sexy duet with Loretta and Jack, who's got 40 years on her...the backup band and song's producer Brendan Benson are now a little group you might have heard of called The Raconteurs

The Mamas and the Papas - California Dreamin'
nice go-go boots, Cass and Michelle!  check out the absolutely dreadful dancing girls in bathtubs, 1966

Mazzy Star - Fade Into You
a gorgeous song they never really followed up on

MC Honky - Like a Duck
Electronica project of Mark Oliver Everett of eels

Midlake - Roscoe
another of my favorite new bands

Modest Mouse - new song played in LA, November 5, 2006
this one's from Tim, showing his favorite band with their new guitarist, Johnny Marr, formerly of the Smiths

Ms. John Soda - Go Check
German techno band, spin-off of Couch

The National  - Lit Up
excellent band from Cincinnati via Brooklyn

The New Pornographers - The Bleeding Heart Show
a great song that builds to a super singalong ending, Ottawa, October 2006

Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
get a taste of how phenomenal Nirvana was, August 1992 in Reading, UK, as Kurt opens with "More than a Feeling" (which has same chords as SLTS)

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (Prince cover)
remember when you first heard this? wow...1990

Of Montreal - Disconnect the Dots
one of Liese's favorites, awfully bouncy

Okkervil River - For Real
one of the very best new bands, from New Hampshire via Austin

Outkast - B.O.B. (Bombs over Baghdad)
written about the first Gulf War but even more appropro now

Pernice Brothers - Somerville
another fine new band, this is a silly video but just listen to the song

Pink Floyd  - Breathe, Money, Wish You Were Here, Comfortably Numb
Roger and David onstage together for the first time in 25 years...Live 8, London, July 2005

The Pipettes - Your Kisses are  Wasted on Me
British trio brilliantly brings back the 60s girl groups

Pixies - Hey
Jeez, Frank and Kim were both WAY skinnier back in the day (1988)

Pixies - Here Comes Your Man
lovely melody as usual from the Pixies

The Police - Message in a Bottle
first time the song gets played in front of a crowd, 1978

The Police - Every Breasth You Take
inside a church in beautiful black & white, Sting on the stand-up acoustic bass, 1983

The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone
electronica project by guys from Death Cab and Dntl (Jenny Lewis is the female guest vocalist)

Radiohead - There There
unusual video actually featuring Thom Yorke acting

Radiohead - There There
just Thom on acoustic guitar and Jonny on electric at Musique Plus, Montreal, June  2003

Radiohead - Paranoid Android
they were trying to imitate the Beatles' Happiness is a Warm Gun, a song with three distinct parts

Radiohead - Street Spirit (Fade Out)
the gorgeous  closer from OK Computer, almost ten years old already...

R.E.M - Harbour Coat
live in 1985 when they were the best band in the world, see Stipe with hair

R.E.M. - S. Central Rain (Sorry)
must be an even earlier clip, because he had more hair

R.E.M. - Carnival of Sorts (Boxcars)
Yes, we really did use to dance to this in 1983

R.E.M. - Wolves, Lower
their very first video with the most hair of all

R.E.M. - Nightswimming
full-length 8 minute video, the beautiful song starts at 2:22...this is probably my most favorite REM song ever, followed by Strange Currencies and Electrolite

R.E.M. - Electrolite
don't worry the whole video's not upside-down

R.E.M. - Radio Free Europe
the band's TV debut on Letterman, 1983 (S. Central Rain from same appearance here)

R.E.M. - S. Central Rain (Sorry)
once again as a foursome, September 2006, Athens, GA

The Raconteurs - Steady as She Goes
everything Jack White touches turns to gold...ridiculous amount of talent in that boy

The Shins - New Slang
one of the most melodic groups out there, can't wait for the new record in January...

Sigur Rós  - Glósóli
another enchanting video from the Icleanders....must watch till the end!

Sigur Rós  - Svefn g englar
see Jonsi bow his guitar and sing in his made-up language, be moved to tears
live at Tower Theatre, Philadelphia, January 2006

Sigur Rós - Untitled #1 (Vaka)
the most depressing music video of all time? you be the judge...but you won't ever forget it

Silversun Pickups - Lazy Eye
new California  band makes strong TV debut on Letterman with this memorable tune (for months I thought it was a girl singer!)

Simon & Garfunkel - The Sound of Silence
1965, when they were just folksingers

Elliott Smith - Happiness
not a topic Elliot was very familiar with, unfortunately... Olympia, WA, 1999

Patti Smith - Dancing Barefoot
acoustic

The Smiths - What Difference Does it Make?
Morrissey is so weird, but what difference does it make?

The Smiths - Reel Around the Fountain
not the greatest quality video but I adore this song, watch Morrissey be pelted with flowers and jewelry, 1983

The Smiths - The Boy with the Thorn in his Side
live in studio, you can see the whole band's normal except for Morrissey, who's completely on his own planet

Regina Spektor - Better
If I kiss you where it's sore/will you feel better?

Sufjan Stevens - John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
stunningly beautiful song about a gruesome serial killer, believe it or not (Sufjan cringes at 2:37 after he mistakenly starts to sing the line "Are you one of them?" where it doesn't belong)

Talking Heads - Once in a Lifetime
this is not my beautiful house./this is not my beautiful wife, 1981, David Byrne showing himself to be an early master of the then-new music video form

The White Stripes - My Doorbell
Jack and Meg play for a bunch of preschoolers who really don't know who they are but who get into the performance, with no self-consciousness at all

Lucinda Williams - Drunken Angel
Austin City Limits

The Wrens - Boys, You Won't
live at Haldern Pop Festival with lots of extra drummers, Germany, August 2006

The Wrens - Everyone Choose Sides
sitting around with acoustic guitars, Jerry providing percussion by shaking and  tapping on a box of Cap'n Crunch, must-see!

The Wrens - Faster Gun
professional video by Michael Palmieri (New Pornographers, Strokes, Beck), see the band driving themselves from gig to gig, eating in diners,  and acting as their own roadies, lol

The Wrens - The House that Guilt Built
this is how they open their shows, sans crickets...I'm nowhere near where I  dreamed I'd be/I can't believe what life's done to me

U2 and Green Day - When September Comes, House of the Rising Sun, The Saints are Coming, Beautiful Day
live from the Superdome, New Orleans, October 2006

X - We're Desperate
from Penelope Spheeris' great film on the LA punk scene, The Decline of Western Civilization, 1981, see Deb's favorite band of all time in their prime. Subtitles conveniently provided in case you can't decipher Exene's vocals.

X - Soul Kitchen (Doors cover)
X  producer and former Doors keyboardist  Ray Manzarek joins the band for their version of a song his first band made famous at a MUCH slower speed

Yo La Tengo - Hey Mr. Tough
the world's only Jewish husband-and-wife band? and they're from Hoboken!

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