Ten best music videos of 2011 (+videos)

The Black Keys aren't in it, but the video for Lonely Boy is one of the best of the year. Photo / Supplied

1. Lonely Boy - The Black Keys: It was supposed to star both members of the band and a team of dancers, but one look at Derrick Tuggle was all it took to convince everyone that he was their man.

"It was supposed to be me and six other people, and we were all supposed to dance and lip sync to the song," he told Ellen DeGeneres. "The director and the Black Keys decided, I'm the star of this video."

Got that right.

2. Yonkers - Tyler, the Creator: He and his OFWGKTA crew were banned from the New Zealand leg of the Big Day Out, but expect Yonkers to get a rowdy reception at the Los Angeles rap group's Powerstation show in January. With 33 million views on YouTube, it's a classic. (The video is here, but contains explicit content.)

3. Underneath the Shade - Homebrew: Local hip-hop crew Homebrew combined with local artiste Chris Graham for a slacker apocolypse masterpiece featuring some good old crate bottles.

Watch for that nicely timed twist ending too.

4. Curl of the Burl - Mastodon: The grizzly metallers released the hard rock album of the year in The Hunter, their most straight-forward album yet. This video, best described as drug-fuelled hillbilly mayhem, fits the song perfectly.

5. Lotus Flower - Radiohead: Five minutes of Thom Yorke dancing sounds bad, right? But the Radiohead front man's wacky moves are nothing short of entrancing - so start practicing them for your next office party.

6. 212 - Azelia Banks: Crowned the hottest new star of 2011 by NME, Azealia Banks thrilled with this slice of dancehall-rap that came from a mouth that desperately needs washing out with soap. (The video is here, but contains explicit content.)

7. Midnight City - M83: It took way too long for the video to come out, but it was worth the wait. M83's Midnight City comes off like a feature-length film in four unmissable minutes. If you haven't seen it, grab some popcorn and watch it now:

8. Take a Picture - David Dallas: D-dot-Dallas reckons this is his best song and with that Chemical Brothers sample sticking in your head for days, it's hard to disagree. Great clip too.

9. My Machines - Battles: You'll never ride an escalator again - especially if you're carrying your shopping. Scary stuff from the math-rockers.

10. Big Bad Wolf - Duck Sauce: Way too explicit for us to even link to, Duck Sauce's second single wasn't even that great. But the video sent it into the stratosphere. Go Google it - if you're not easily offended.

- Herald online