Because the platform is relatively young, it might feel strange to think of any YouTube video as "classic." But 14 years is a lifetime in Silicon Valley, and for most of those years, YouTube has functioned as the Internet's bustling town square. It's noisy, crowded, and vibrant, and everyone passes through it. And if you set up a shop there, you'd better be selling something good; otherwise, someone hungrier than you will take your spot.
Andy Warhol said that in the future, "Everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes." That's a pretty good encapsulation of what YouTube has become. At this point, many videos have racked up millions or tens of millions of views. But the turnover for these "viral" videos is equally dramatic; views do not equate to longevity. Most content creators can rack up millions of views and subscribers without ever creating something truly memorable, that will last or impact people beyond the month (or even week) in which it was created.
It takes something special— that right combination of quirky, weird, and funny—to last for years, and these 10 videos have got it. Here are the 10 most classic YouTube videos of all time. No matter how many times we watch them, they'll never get old.
Evolution of Dance
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Original Upload Date: April 6, 2006
This video, starring Judson Laipply, is the most famous "dad dancing" video on the Internet, except that instead of doing it drunk at a wedding reception, he did it on a stage for the world to witness. He's a motivational speaker, which makes perfect sense; the man does not lack confidence, nor should he.
Laipply hasn't been active on social media as of late; his last notable post was Evolution of Dance 3, which he posted in 2016 to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the original video.
Rick Roll'd!
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Original Upload Date: May 15, 2007
Misdirected links are a classic prank, but most of them used to lead to gross out photos or porn that could get you fired if you opened them in the wrong place at the wrong time. But in the mid-'00s, the Internet came up with a "Safe for Work" option: the music video for Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up."
Now, instead of having to wash your eyes out with bleach, you get to watch one of the most '80s music videos ever made. For April Fool's Day in 2008, YouTube made all of its featured videos link to the video. Astley himself is a good sport about it, and Rick Roll'd the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade the same year.
Nintendo 64!
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Original Upload Date: March 26, 2006
It's the original, best Christmas reveal reaction. Brandon Kuzma and his girlfriend were going through old home videos when they came across this 1998 video, from when Brandon was 9 and his sister Rachel was 6.
At his girlfriend's urging, Brandon uploaded the video to his personal website. After being shared around the gaming community, the video was eventually uploaded to YouTube, where its popularity exploded.
Sneezing Panda
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Original Upload Date: Nov. 6, 2006
This video, taken at the Wolong Panda Reserve in China, stars panda cub Mei Xiang and her mother Xue Xue. Numerous outlets got the identity of the pandas wrong; CNN still has an article up that celebrates the wrong cub.
Mei lives at the Smithsonian National Zoo and has three children of her own. Xue Xue, unfortunately, has died; an attempt to release her back into the wild in China resulted in a fatal illness.
Eli v Envy Rap Battle
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Original Upload Date: Nov. 27, 2007
In 2007, Eli Porter engaged in a rap battle that left his opponent and the judges looking confused. Entitled "Iron Mic,” the video made Porter into an inadvertent celebrity. Kanye even namechecked him in "HAM": “Just forget it, you talk it, I live it/ Like Eli I did it, jokes on you, motherfucker and I get it."
The video was widely circulated and was even the subject of the 2011 documentary People's Champion. The filmmakers caught up with everyone they could track down, including the teachers at the school, the judges, the guy who uploaded the footage onto YouTube, and of course, Eli himself. You can watch the film here.
Charlie Bit My Finger
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Original Upload Date: May 22, 2007
What really sells this classic video are Charlie's giggle and the love the two boys have for each other. Even the brief scolding—"That really hurt!"—is done with such affection.
The father of 3-year-old Harry Davies-Carr and 1-year-old Charlie Davies-Carr was filming the boys, presumably in hopes of capturing something memorable for his family. By posting the video to YouTube, he welcomed us all into the family; no one can forget this viral video. Since then, the family has welcomed two more children, and the money they made off advertising and merchandise has allowed them to enroll all four kids in private education.
Charlie the Unicorn
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Original Upload Date: April 30, 2006
Originally posted by creator Jason Steele on NewGrounds, “Charlie the Unicorn” eventually made its way to YouTube and became widely successful, spawning sequels and merchandise.
The video, an absurd tale of two unicorns accompanying a less colorful, grouchier unicorn to Candy Mountain, manages to be both vague and oddly specific; they're guided to the mountain by a magical liopleurodon, and Charlie wakes up the following morning to discover he's missing his left kidney.
It was a simpler time, when being delightfully random was more than enough reason to go viral.
Leave Britney Alone!
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Original Upload Date: Sept. 10, 2007
When Britney Spears opened the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, she had already been through a lot. She had divorced Kevin Federline. She had been to rehab twice. She shaved her head bald and attacked a paparazzi vehicle with an umbrella. When she performed "Gimme More" at the VMAs, she seemed exhausted and burnt out, lost and uncoordinated.
But her loyal fans defended her. One particular fan, Chris Crocker. posted an impassioned, tearful defense of his favorite pop star. The Internet of a decade ago was a different place, and Crocker, who looked and acted distinctly feminine, got a lot of homophobic hate, in addition to more general mockery about his over-the-top reaction.
Crocker is still online, and though he's gained considerable fame (or infamy) from the clip, he says that given the chance to do it over, he would hesitate to upload it again.
Gangnam Style
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Original Upload Date: July 15, 2012
Absurdly over-the-top, Psy's "Gangnam Style" was many people's first exposure to K-Pop. It popularized a ridiculous horse dance. It refined randomness into a fine art, and for several years, it was the most viewed video on YouTube. It currently has over 3 billion views.
Multiple tributes cropped up, most notably on SNL, in flash mobs worldwide, and in sports celebrations.
Another multi-lingual video, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee's "Despacito" is the current most watched video on the site, with over 5 billion views. It's all about that cross-cultural appeal.
Chocolate Rain
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Original Upload Date: April 22, 2007
The original viral YouTube content creator, Tay Zonday wrote and performed "Chocolate Rain" to speak about institutional racism. Unfortunately, the Internet largely missed the point, and instead latched onto the monotony of the song—it droned on for close to five minutes—and Tay's deep, flat, baritone voice. As with all things amateur, the earnestness of the performance counts a great deal; his deer in headlights stare and his attempts to not breathe into the mic are a portrait of adolescent awkwardness.
Tay still performs songs, both originals and covers. You can check out his latest work on his YouTube channel, and here's a video of him singing "Chocolate Rain" for the song's 10th anniversary. Both Tay and YouTube have come so far.
