Yo! MTV Raps

Hip-hop owes everything to Yo! MTV Raps. The show was the only legit source for finding cutting edge rap and hip-hop videos, not to mention glorious trainwreck interviews like the one above. This served as a springboard for hosts Ed Lover and Dr. Dre who went on to make the comedy, Who Da Man? It is perhaps the finest film about guys who know a lot of rappers and are also cops.

Sifl & Olly

Liam Lynch took recordings he made with childhood Matt Crocco and acted them out with the socks off his feet. MTV UK took a liking to them and began to run the clips in commercial blocks. This lead to a half-hour Sifl & Olly show on MTV in America. This proved that you really could find success by trying to crack up your stoned friends.

120 Minutes

Before alternative music took over, there was really only one place to watch it. For two hours every Sunday night, MTV would air videos from bands like The Smiths, Radiohead, and Sonic Youth. It was an awesome showcase of acts that you wouldn’t find through more mainstream channels and helped alternative music to break through in a big way.