Attention: Madonna Turns 50!

Today is the birthday of pop's undisputed queen, the one and only Madonna. It's hard to believe she's been at the top of the pop game for 25 years now, and even harder to believe (especially for those who have seen her perform live) that she's reached the milestone age of 50. To celebrate the occasion, I've picked out my top five favorite Madonna videos of all time. As I'm still on vacation, I wasn't able to do a music post to celebrate, but didn't feel I should leave the day unmarked (after all, she's been featured many times on this blog). Since such a huge part of her groundbreaking status lies in her visual persona, it would only be appropriate to make up for this with a few of her classic short clips. Of course, there are many, many more great ones, including some earlier ones that I may not have even seen (and some not so great or downright terrible ones), but these are just some personal selections. "Material Girl" remains a quintessential 80s video, and one of the first signs of the clever, calculating mind underlying her public persona. Her provocative "Like A Prayer" remains her best song, and perhaps best video, with some of her strongest imagery and artistic leaps ever. "Frozen," directed by the peerless Chris Cunningham, is a work of art that changed the public's perception of her yet again. "Music" is pure fun and kept her at the top of the charts and on everybody's minds as the millennium turned. "What It Feels Like For A Girl" is a violent clip directed by her husband and banned from television, like a handful of her raunchy 1990s videos.

1985: "Material Girl" (from the album Like A Virgin)

1989: "Like A Prayer" (from the album Like A Prayer)

1998: "Frozen" (from the album Ray Of Light)

2000: "Music" (from the album Music)

2001: "What It Feels Like For A Girl" (from the album Music)


Also great:
1990: "Vogue" (from the album I'm Breathless)
1991: "Justify My Love" (from the compilation The Immaculate Collection)
1992: "Erotica" (from the album Erotica)
1995: "Bedtime Story" (from the album Bedtime Stories)
1998: "Ray Of Light" (from the album Ray Of Light)
2000: "Don't Tell Me" (from the album Music)
2002: "Die Another Day" (from the album American Life)
2003: "American Life" (Uncensored Version) (from the album American Life)

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