3. Madonna, "Erotica"
By the time the '90s rolled around, Madonna was unquestionably MTV's second-biggest video star, right behind Michael Jackson. From almost the very beginning of her career, Madonna had courted controversy with her videos, but none pushed boundaries harder than her '92 clip for "Erotica."
In the post-Magic Johnson world of 1992, sex had never seemed more dangerous, and Madonna played that danger to the hilt. The "Erotica" video featured footage of the pop star shot during the sessions for her Sex book, wherein Madonna explores filthy fantasies from interracial threesomes to lesbian bondage. The standard version, featuring no nudity, was promptly banned by MTV, making it a sensation. An explicit version, starring Madonna's impossibly tiny nipples, was also released in Europe and other freakier markets.
As usual, the steamy controversy made Madonna money. The scandalous clip did big business on the home-video market and helped keep her name in print for months.
2. Guns N' Roses, "November Rain"
Guns N' Roses may have been a damn sight grittier than the likes of Michael Jackson and Madonna, but beginning with the video for "November Rain," front man Axl Rose began proving he was no less ambitious -- or eccentric.
Inspired by the lush epics of Axl's '70s idols Elton John and Queen, the "November Rain" video was a decadent masterpiece featuring hundreds of extras, an orchestra and Axl's girlfriend Stephanie Seymour wearing an $8,000 wedding dress. Like the song, the video seemed to be about the stormy, heartbreaking end to a relationship, but scenes of Axl munching on sleeping pills and Seymour lying in a casket with half her face apparently destroyed left many fans wondering what the fuck was going on.
The video cost $1.5 million, and every penny is evident onscreen. The clip won for "Best Cinematography" at the 1992 VMAs and sealed GNR's claim to the Video Vanguard award. Before long, Guns N' Roses' classic lineup would dissolve in acrimony, but "November Rain" survives as a monument to the band's brief-but-memorable reign over the most glorious period in music-video history.
