Poll Analysis - Videos

This page includes the results, and analysis, of polls to find the best promotional video. As with many polls, they are dominated by tracks from recent years, which then fall spectacularly in subsequent polls. Hence, by considering numerous polls, a more accurate result can be obtained.

VH1 Poll (1998)
VH1 Poll (2001/2)
Channel 4 Poll (2005)
Comparison Table
Analysis

VH1 Poll, 1998

1. Thriller - Michael Jackson
2. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
3. Take On Me - A-Ha
4. My Heart Will Go On - Celine Dion
5. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
6. Vogue - Madonna
7. Fastlove - George Michael
8. Say You'll Be There - Spice Girls
9. Earth Song - Michael Jackson
10. Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel

VH1 Poll, 2001/2002
This poll was chosen by a panel of industry experts. The year is unknown, but the most recent video is from 2001, so it is most likely to have been 2001 or 2002:

1. Weapon Of Choice - Fatboy Slim
2. Sabotage - The Beastie Boys
3. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
4. Coffee And TV - Blur
5. Street Spirit - Radiohead
6. Thriller - Michael Jackson
7. It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork
8. Vogue - Madonna
9. She's The One - Robbie Williams
10. Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
11. Let Forever Be - Chemical Brothers
12. Scream - Michael & Janet Jackson
13. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
14. Teardrop - Massive Attack
15. Everybody Hurts - REM
16. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
17. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
18. Justify My Love - Madonna
19. Californication - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
20. Take On Me - A-Ha

Channel 4 Poll, 2005
In this poll, members of the public could vote for their favourite videos from a pre-chosen list of 125.

1. Thriller - Michael Jackson
2. Sledgehammer - Peter Gabriel
3. Take on Me - A-ha
4. Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
5. Like a Prayer - Madonna
6. Rock DJ - Robbie Williams
7. Billie Jean - Michael Jackson
8. Bittersweet Symphony - The Verve
9. Vogue - Madonna
10. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
11. The Scientist - Coldplay
12. Scream - Michael & Janet Jackson
13. Another Brick in the Wall - Pink Floyd
14. Dirrty - Christina Aguilera
15. Everybody Hurts - REM
16. Hey Ya - OutKast
17. Coffee And TV - Blur
18. Crazy in Love - Beyonce
19. Material Girl - Madonna
20. Clint Eastwood - Gorillaz
21. I Want to Break Free - Queen
22. Cry Me a River - Justin Timberlake
23. Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
24. No Surprises - Radiohead
25. Baggy Trousers - Madness
26. Waterfalls - TLC
27. Ashes to Ashes - David Bowie
28. Learn to Fly - Foo Fighters
29. Gay Bar - Electric Six
30. Buddy Holly - Weezer
31. Stan - Eminem
32. Wicked Game - Chris Isaak
33. The Sweetest Thing - U2
34. Fell in Love with a Girl - The White Stripes
35. Nothing Compares 2U - Sinead O'Connor
36. Give It Away - Red Hot Chilli Peppers
37. November Rain - Guns N Roses
38. Weapon of Choice - Fatboy Slim
39. Common People - Pulp
40. Get Ur Freak On - Missy Elliot
41. Wannabe - The Spice Girls
42. It's Oh So Quiet - Bjork
43. Money for Nothing - Dire Straits
44. Can't Get You Out of My Head - Kylie Minogue
45. Crazy - Aerosmith
46. Prince Charming - Adam & the Ants
47. Firestarter - The Prodigy
48. Hurt - Johnny Cash
49. Virtual Insanity - Jamiroquai
50. You Can Call Me Al - Paul Simon
51. Walk This Way - Run DMC & Aerosmith
52. Teardrop - Massive Attack
53. Club Tropicana - Wham
54. Around the World - Daft Punk
55. Praise You - Fatboy Slim
56. Without Me - Eminem
57. I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That) - Meat Loaf
58. Close to Me - The Cure
59. Knowing Me - Abba
60. Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
61. Smack My Bitch Up - The Prodigy
62. Parklife - Blur
63. Outside - George Michael
64. Human Behaviour - Bjork
65. Windowlicker - Aphex Twin
66. Subterranean Homesick Blues - Bob Dylan
67. Sabotage - The Beastie Boys
68. Ray of Light - Madonna
69. Two Tribes - Frankie Goes to Hollywood
70. Every Breath You Take - The Police
71. All Is Full of Love - Bjork
72. Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer
73. Where's Your Head At? - Basement Jaxx
74. Gravel Pit - Wu-Tang Clan
75. Rio - Duran Duran
76. Strawberry Fields - The Beatles
77. U Can't Touch This - MC Hammer
78. Cry - Godley and Creme
79. True Faith - New Order
80. Just - Radiohead
81. Vienna - Ultravox
82. In Da Club - 50 Cent
83. Stay - Shakespear's Sister
84. I Don't Like Mondays - The Boomtown Rats
85. My Way - Sid Vicious
86. Fit But You Know It - The Streets
87. Once in a Lifetime - Talking Heads
88. I Want Love - Elton John
89. Tonight Tonight - Smashing Pumpkins
90. Go West - The Pet Shop Boys
91. Ghost Town - The Specials
92. Rockit - Herbie Hancock
93. We Love You - The Rolling Stones
94. Total Eclipse of the Heart - Bonnie Tyler
95. My Favourite Game - The Cardigans
96. 21 Seconds - So Solid Crew
97. Brimful of Asha - Cornershop
98. Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat
99. Pumping on Your Stereo - Supergrass
100. Pass the Dutchie - Musical Youth

Comparison Table
The following table shows all of the tracks which have appeared in the top 20 of any of the 3 polls listed above. The tracks are arranged by their average position across the polls:

• If a song was not released at the time of the poll, this is indicated with the letters NYR (Not Yet Released). In these instances, the average is calculated by considering the positions in the other polls instead.
• If a song was released before a poll, but is not in the list, then the average calculation uses the highest possible position that the track could have achieved, so 21 for a top 20 poll.
• So for example, 'She's The One' was not present in the 2005 poll so it's position is assumed to be 101. It reached no 9 in the 2001/2 poll, and was not released in time for the 1998 poll; hence it's average is taken as the average of 9 and 101, giving 55.

Analysis

• Four tracks present in the top 10 1998 poll did not appear in the top 20 in 2000/2001 or the top 100 in 2005; "My Heart Will Go On", "Fastlove", "Say You'll Be There" and "Earth Song"; all were released in the three years prior to the poll.
• There are 14 tracks in the 2000/2001 list which were not in the 1998 list. Five of these weren't even in the top 100 in 2005, three weren't in the top 50 in 2005, two weren't in the top 20, and the remaining four were between 10 and 17. Indeed, the 2001/2 list seems to completely contradict the other polls.
• In other words, the polls are dominated by recent acts which will be forgotten with time. If you instead consider only those tracks that appear in more than one poll (and hence are not voted for simply because they are recent), then you can get a more probable list.
• As the 2001/2 list seems to skew the results so much, a better list may be:
  • Thriller (Michael Jackson) (average position 1)
  • Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen) (average position 3)
  • Take On Me (A-ha) (average position 3)
  • Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel) (average position 6)
  • Vogue (Madonna) (average position 8)

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