What are the best music videos of the noughties?

What makes a great pop video? Explosive action? Mind-bending animation? Bling? Bottles of Cristal? Being ripped off in the latest TV advert? One viewer's masterpiece is another's dross, and they will never agree.

And there are simply more videos now than there used to be. In the 70s and 80s, quality videos stood out because there wasn't much else around – Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, Jacko's Thriller and Peter Gabriel's Sledgehammer were events. Now videos cram every corner of YouTube, blogs and TV channels from Viva to MTV.

In the noughties, having a director for your video wasn't enough – they had to be a big name. Hype Williams was one of the busiest, shooting videos such as Kanye West's Gold Digger and Stronger, Beyoncé's Check on It and Coldplay's Viva La Vida. Other directors such as Mark Romanek – who shot Jay-Z's 99 Problems – slowed their work rate as they moved into feature films.

Two of the best directors of the 90s managed to keep up a steady output while moving into movies. Michel Gondry followed groundbreaking videos for the likes of Bjork, Daft Punk and Massive Attack in the 90s with a string of creative clips for the White Stripes, Radiohead, the Chemical Brothers and more, managing to squeeze in four feature films and and episode of Flight of the Conchords along the way. Meanwhile, Spike Jonze juggled making Adaptation and Where the Wild Things Are with dating Karen O and shooting videos for Björk, Kanye West and more.

Their work – and that of other great directors – is the kind of promo that stands the test of time. Here is a personal selection of those that stood out over the past decade. Let us know what you think we've missed out.

Robbie Williams: Rock DJ (Vaughan Arnell, 2000)
Ignore the Jedward cover version on The X Factor: this features Robbie impressing a female DJ by stripping himself to the bone. The ending was cut by most music channels around Europe, including VIVA, MCM and MTV and The Box.

Fatboy Slim: Weapon of Choice (Spike Jonze, 2001)
Thankfully keeping Norman Cook out of his own video, this clip is an unexpected delight. Spike Jonze somehow persuaded Hollywood bad-guy Christopher Walken to do an iprovised dance routine – and the result is history. The video won six MTV awards, including best choreography for Walken.

Gorillaz: Clint Eastwood (Jamie Hewlett & Pete Candeland, 2001)
This stark, graphic video marked the launch of Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett's Gorillaz project. It had an instant impact at the time, introducing the characters of 2D, Murdoc, Noodle and Russel as they battle zombies against a simple white background.

Kylie Minogue: Can't Get You Out of My Head (Dawn Shadforth, 2001)
Can Kylie ever have looked sexier than this? Dawn Shadforth's video was iconic for its futuristic look, featuring Kylie in an apparently revealing white costume, backed by perfectly choreographed dancers in red headgear. Also worth checking out is Michel Gondry's hypnotic video for Come Into My World, featuring multiple Kylies strutting around Paris.

Missy Elliott: Get Ur Freak On (Dave Meyers, 2001)
Hype Williams made Missy stand out with a string of bug-eyed videos, but it was this Dave Meyers clip that really got her noticed. Missy shows off her freaky moves in an atmospheric Tomb Raider-style set backed by seemingly possessed dancers. It features cameos from a who's who of hip-hop, including Nate Dogg, Ludacris, Busta Rhymes, Eve, Timbaland, Ja Rule and LL Cool J.

The White Stripes: Fell in Love With a Girl (Michel Gondry, 2002)
What do you do for one of the best rock songs of the decade? Director Michel Gondry took a great idea and pushed it to its logical conclusion. Where other directors might have used computer animation, Gondry's team spent weeks building the White Stripes out of Lego. Alex & Martin's graphic video for Seven Nation Army is also worth checking out.

Johnny Cash: Hurt (Mark Romanek, 2002)
I defy you to watch this and fail to be moved. Shot shortly before Cash's death, it mixes footage of the country singer singing the Nine Inch Nails song, walking around his memorabilia-strewn-home with his wife and footage of the Man in Black in his heyday. Seldom has documentary footage been used so poignantly.

Christina Aguilera: Dirrty (David LaChapelle, 2002)
Described by Blender magazine as "a post-apocalyptic orgy", this raunchy clip helped X-tina turn Christina into XXX-tina. Photographer David LaChappelle does his best to help the singer shed her good-girl image with her performance in a wrestling ring surrounded by sweaty, scantily-clad dancers and wrestlers.

OutKast: Hay Ya! (Bryan Barber, 2003)
It's back to the 1960s in this upbeat clip that sees Andre 3000 reborn as the band reminiscent of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show – except all the members of the band are played by himself. OutKast's earlier clip for Bombs Over Baghdad, featuring Andre being chased by a pack of kids through a psychedelic landscape, is great, too.

Sigur Ros: Untitled #1 (Vaka) (Floria Sigismondi, 2003)
Sigur Ros have a great track record with videos, and this is no exception. Floria Sigismondi's haunting post-apocalyptic clip conveys the sadness as well as the beauty of the track – the images of children in gas masks are difficult to forget.

Jay-Z: 99 Problems (Mark Romanek, 2004)
OK, so Big Pimpin' might be the ultimate bling video, but this promo featuring Jigga and Rick Rubin cruising around New York shows off his hip-hop side. If Jay-Z wants us to believe that he's keeping it real, this might just be convincing enough.

The Streets: Dry Your Eyes (Johan Renck, 2004)
There are several great videos for The Streets, not least Dawn Shadforth's Weak Become Heroes and Dougal Wilson's Fit But You Know It, but Johan Renck's clip for Dry Your Eyes is a masterpiece. Stunningly shot, it gets across the emotion of the song; even Mike Skinner's dog looks melancholy.

Franz Ferdinand: Take Me Out (Jonas Odell, 2004)
A perfect blend of the band's Russian avant-garde graphics with surreal Terry Gilliam-style animation. Frontman Alex Kapranos said: 'It's kind of two dimensional in a three-dimensional style, if that makes any sense. It's a montage of images; ourselves, pictures and things taken from other places and put together in a strange, abstract way. That's what gives the video that strange, jerky, style.'

Kanye West: Jesus Walks (Chris Milk, 2004)
He may now be making an impression by dissing Taylor Swift at the MTV awards, but back in 2004 West helped reinforce his breakthrough with this release. He spared no expense for this song - no less than three videos were shot. Milk's version features footage of drug dealers being chased through the desert by cops, inmates on a chain gang tangling with guards, and a Ku Klux Klansman setting himself on fire while carrying a burning cross.

Gwen Stefani: What You Waiting For? (Francis Lawrence, 2004)
He later shot movie I Am Legend and Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, but video veteran Francis Lawrence hit one of several highs with this lush clip based on an Alice in Wonderland theme. If she were handing out tiny bottles labelled "Drink Me", you'd definitely want to try some.

The Avalanches: Frontier Psychiatrist (Kuntz & Maguire, 2005)
This video manages to make a sample-heavy track (almost) make sense by turning each sample into a different musician in a studio. Everyone will have their favourite character, from the turtle with an old man's head to the ghost chorus to the monkey playing the drums (sound familiar?).

Björk: Triumph of a Heart (Spike Jonze, 2005)
He may he currently hitting the headlines for Where the Wild Things Are, but Spike Jonze worked with animals of a very different kind for this typically quirky Björk video. Quite why her boyfriend in this video is a cat is never explained, but Jonze manages to make you feel you're part of an Icelandic party.

Chemical Brothers: Believe (Dom & Nic, 2005)
Few videos convey a sense of paranoia better than this intense clip featuring a man being chased through London by robots. The scene where the robot appears above the roof of the multistorey car park is just brilliant. But can robots really run so fast?

OK Go: Here It Goes Again (Trish Sie & OK Go, 2006)
It may have been produced on a small budget, but OK Go's video for Here It Goes Again made a big impact. It exploited the growing trend for videos to go viral – people forwarded it on and emailed links to their friends until the song became a chart hit.

Gnarls Barkley: Crazy (Robert Hales, 2006)
Director Robert Hales employs constantly morphing Rorschach inkblots to psychedelic effect in this hypnotic video, which perfectly matches the psyhological theme of the song.

Vitalic: Poney (Pt 1) (Pleix, 2006)
There are people who could watch dogs flying through the air in slow motion all day. I am definitely one of them.

Hot Chip: Over And Over (Nima Nourizadeh, 2006)
This charming clip goes back to basics with its simple set-up of the band performing against a green screen. Watch out for the bit where a red balloon gets popped with a giant needle and the band change colour as they are coated by its contents.

Raconteurs: Steady As She Goes (The Malloys, 2006)
This nostalgic clip features Jack White and co in an old-fashioned soapbox derby, featuring a villain straight out of a silent movie or the Wacky Races. Movie director Jim Jarmusch shot an alternative, typically lo-fi clip featuring the band performing the song.

Grizzly Bear: Knife (Encyclopedia Pictura, 2006)
Death Valley comes to life in this (slightly creepy) video featuring the band as prospectors confronted by the forces of nature. The band suffered for their art during its making: they were buried up to their necks in the sand under the hot desert sun.

Bat For Lashes: What's a Girl To Do (Dougal Wilson, 2007)
This spooky video suits the mood of the track perfectly, with Natasha Khan cycling through a dark wood accompanied by a variety of strange animals, who appear, do tricks on BMX bikes and then disappear again. If David Lynch had directed Supergrass's Alright, it would have been like this.

Dizzee Rascal: Sirens (W.I.Z., 2007)
British video veteran W.I.Z. directed several great clips over the decade, including Will Young's All Time Love, Jamelia's See It in a Boy's Eyes and Kasabian's Club Foot, but this incendiary clip is among his best. The sight of the hunt charging through an estate – named the "Orgreave" after the scene of a clash in the miners' strike – is unforgettable.

Feist: 1234 (Patrick Daughters, 2007)
Toronto's Feist made her name with the help of this promo – and a little help from Apple. This single-take gem featured her in a sparkly blue pantsuit and a rainbow coloured cast of expertly choreographed dancers. If you haven't already, also check out Feist performing the song on Sesame Street.

Beyoncé: Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It) (Jake Nava, 2008)
Videos don't come more bootylicious than this. This stark clip showed Beyoncé accompanied by two lookalike dancers in a plain white studio, doing a tightly choreographed routine. It inspired a string of parody versions, from Justin Timberlake in a leotard to babies bouncing up and down.

MGMT: Time to Pretend (Ray Tintori, 2008)
It's been criticised for ripping off 70s psychedelic cinema, but this raw, trippy clip certainly makes an impact. The same director shot a video for Electric Feel that allows the user to "edit" the footage it as they watch.