10 Best Videos From MTV's First Day

Exactly 40 years ago—Aug. 1, 1981—a new station called MTV played its very first video, the appropriately titled "Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles. Stereogum pays tribute to the industry-changing moment by ranking the 40 best videos from MTV's very first day. As it turns out, the Buggles cracked the top 10, but the highest honors go to David Byrne and the Talking Heads. Blondie, meanwhile, shows up twice. The top 10:

1. Talking Heads, "Once in a Lifetime"
2. Blondie, "Rapture"
3. Kate Bush, "Wuthering Heights"
4. Ultravox, "Vienna"
5. The Buggles, "Video Killed the Radio Star"
6. Blondie, "Heart of Glass"
7. The Selecter, "Celebrate the Bullet"
8. Hilly Michaels, "Calling All Girls"
9. David Bowie, "Boys Keep Swinging"
10. Blotto, "I Wanna Be a Lifeguard"

Read the full rankings here, along with Alex Wexelman's succinct reviews on the videos themselves. (More MTV stories.)