Hurricanes battered the East Coast. Two heavyweight presidential wanna-bes waged a brutal campaign. And Paris Hilton further explored her inner skank. OK, we know all that. What we don’t know: which 40 videos were the absolute best of the best in 2004? That’s what we’re here to decide.

It’s time again for VH1 to count down the Top 40 Videos of the year, from way back in January all the way through the holidays. This 2-hour special brings you the most niftiest videos the year had to offer, the clips that thrilled us, rocked us, and inspired us to pay tribute to them on secret VH1 altars in our attics. C’mon, you know you did.

Among the artists making this year’s countdown are U2, Outkast, Beyonce, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Usher, Alicia Keys and Joss Stone. You’ll hear from them, as well as industry insiders, experts and other pop culture experts. You’ll find out exactly why these 40 videos are the best of ‘04. And it’s not just because we say they are. Well, OK, that’s part of it. But we also based our choices on hard data like record sales, downloads, radio air play and time spent on VH1’s weekly Top 20 Video Countdown. What do you think we are, amateurs?

So kick back, relax, and get ready for a collection of videos you’ll no doubt cherish. They’re the Top 40 Videos of 2004. Enjoy

Airdates & Times:
Dec. 18 – 2PM (ET)
Dec. 18 – 8PM (ET)
Dec. 18 – 11PM (ET)
Dec. 20 – 1AM (ET)