It seems like forever since watching videos on MTV was a regular part of our lives, but once upon a time it was. We could go on and on about how the station — which turns 30 on August 1 — turned to crap years ago for one reason or another, or about how the “M” in MTV seems to stand for Mook now, but let’s not go there. Let’s make this post a happy remembrance, one in which we celebrate what was rather than lament what isn’t.

So in that spirit of celebration, here is a list of our 30 favorite music videos of the MTV era (which kicked off on August 1, 1981). Not the best videos, necessarily, but the ones that had the most impact on us. Oh, and for you ranking junkies — sorry, this is strictly in alphabetical order.

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1. Daft Punk, “Around the World”

In college we had a primitive system in the dining hall that allowed us to watch music videos while we ate. Unfortunately, the school was too cheap to buy any more than a dozen (mostly awful) songs, so there wasn’t much choice. “Around the World” was the perfect stylish, hypnotic video to make you forget that you were eating Grade D meat at filet mignon prices. – SJ Stanton

2. Joy Division, “Atmosphere”

Joy Division Atmosphere by DrEuthanasia
A beautiful memorial to Ian Curtis. Other directors turned music videos into short movies, but I think this is one of the finest examples of pure art. – SJ

3. Talking Heads, “Burning Down the House”

Talking Heads – Burning down the house by Dan_of_the_Land
The fascinating yet distrubing image of David Byrne’s disembodied head singing this song will be etched into my memory forever. – Chris Holmes

4. 2Pac, “California Love” (feat. Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman)

This is not only the only 2Pac song I can listen to from start to finish, this is easily my favorite hip hop video of all time. – Chris

5. Art of Noise, “Close (to the Edit)”

I love the early videos when no one was entirely sure what would sell well, so they just did whatever weird crap they wanted. That little girl is probably my age now, which makes me feel really old. – SJ

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It’s just an extravaganza of music reviews on the Suit this week, no? Here’s three more we didn’t want to go without mentioning.

The Go! Team — Rolling Blackouts (Memphis Industries)

Wow, has it really been seven years since Thunder, Lightning, Strike came out? That hardly seems possible. The Go! Team did release an album between then and now, Proof of Youth, but it never even appeared on my radar. Luckily this album did, because I like it a lot. The opening track, “T.O.R.N.A.D.O.”, is a 20-megaton blast of what makes the Go! Team so fun — big beats, clever orchestration, and of course those cheerleader vocals.

The fun doesn’t really let up over the course of a baker’s dozen tracks. While a lesser outfit might be tempted to let the layered, dense arrangements do all the heavy lifting, it’s clear that here they are really just very good pop songs dressed in weird clothing. Credit must go to band visionary Ian Parton, who keeps his band’s gimmick from seeming gimmicky. If you can listen to meticulous but bubbly pop confections like “Apollo Throwdown,” “Ready to Go Steady,” or “Rolling Blackouts” without smiling or dancing in your seat, you may just be dead. — Chris Holmes

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