In the past few years, it's sometimes felt like we've had to stretch in order to put together a collection of the year's best videos; this time around, however, it was difficult to trim it down to a crisp 40.

As always, the clips we've selected show the full range of moodier music videos, from big-budget successes to the homemade to viral goofs. Some were picked because they're breaking the boundaries of technology (the Arcade Fire clip by Chris Milk), some because of their absolute zaniness (videos by Die Antwoord and Hot Chip), and some because they, uh, have nudity (cuts from Grinderman and El Guincho). But in each case these are videos we think you'll want to watch on your computer, perhaps over and over. Technical precision matters, but entertainment value matters most of all. Thankfully most of these 40 accomplish both.

Arcade Fire: "We Used to Wait" [dir. Chris Milk]

Baths: "Lovely Bloodflow" [dir. Alex Takacs & Joe Nankin]

Best Coast: "When I'm With You" [dir. Pete Ohs]

The Black Keys: "Tighten Up" [dir. Chris Marrs Piliero]

The Books: "I Didn't Know That" [dir. Nick Zammuto]

Caribou: "Odessa" [dir. Video Marsh]

ceo: "Come With Me" [dir. Marcus Söderlund]

Das Racist: "Who's That? Brooown!" [dir. Thomas De Napoli]

Die Antwoord: "Zef Side" [dir. Sean Metelerkamp]

Duck Sauce: "Barbra Streisand" [dir. So Me]