One often overlooked corner of the post-apocalyptic media market is that of music videos. There’s actually a solid number of bands out there with videos that showcase a “Mad Max” feel. This was a huge trend in the mid-80s when Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome was released, and again in the last 10 years or so.

Being a huge music fan myself, I’ve always wanted to showcase my favorite post-apocalyptic music videos, so I decided to compile a list as ranked by just a couple simple criteria:

• They must feature costumes and a setting that you’d like to see in a Mad-Max-style movie (while excluding videos that simply show clips from a movie).
• The song must be halfway decent.
• They should tell a story, but telling a unique story is even better.

The musical style itself doesn’t matter to me; I’m looking for videos that best represent that perfect post-apocalyptic aesthetic. So here’s my list of the top 25 post-apocalyptic music videos of all time in reverse order. Enjoy!

25. Public Enemy: GRID

24. Don Henley: All She Wants to do is Dance

23. Heart: What About Love

22. Linkin Park: The Catalyst

21. My Chemical Romance: Na Na Na

20. Pearl Jam: Do the Evolution

19. Billy Idol: Dancing with Myself

18. Scandal: The Warrior

17. Britney Spears: Till the World Ends

16. Gary Numan: My Name is Ruin

15. Within Temptation: Paradise (What About Us?)

14. Falling Still: I Am the Dr

13. Duran Duran: The Wild Boys

12. V2A: Toxic

11. Rick Springfield: Bop Till You Drop

10. Undercode: Driven

9. Unleash the Archers: Tonight We Ride

8. AHTCK: Antagonist

7. Lindsey Sterling: The Arena

6. Lionface: No Hope State

5. Five Finger Death Punch: House of the Rising Sun

4. Mushroomhead: The Heresy

3. Foster the People: Helena Beat

2. 2PAC: California Love

1. Tom Petty: You Got Lucky

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Shawn

Shawn has been infatuated with the post-apocalyptic genre since he wore out his horribly American-dubbed VHS of the original Mad Max as a child. Shawn is the former Editor-in-Chief at Joystiq's Massively.com, creator of the Aftermath post-apocalyptic immersion event, and host of the Through the Aftermath podcast for over 11 years. He currently resides on top of a mountain in the middle of nowhere with his wife and four children.