Reviving a dead thread, but better one from 2006 than the other option, one from 2002! And I'm too lazy to start a new thread for this, so NYAH!
I don't watch a lot of AMVs, because the majority of them are terrible truly amateur attempts where people just pull a 4 or 5 minute clip straight from the anime, complete with subtitles and random lip flaps, and slap a song right on top. That is not a music video, yet that's all I seem to see everywhere. ([rant] And please god, if you make AMVs,
do not let there be subtitles! It's so freakin' distracting and just shows a totally weak grasp of making AMVs. If you're gonna go to the effort of making an AMV, at least download the raws first! Gah, pet peeve alert!!! [/rant])
ANYWAY.
I guess it'd be different and I'd find better AMVs if I stopped looking for them on youtube and actually looked on some dedicated AMV sites, but meh.
So whenever I find good AMVs, I really cherish them. Here are a few of my favorites, ones I think are truly awesome in how they incorporate the film with their chosen song:
Paranoia Agent -
"Mad World"
Good choice of song and good use of the visuals to emphasize the lyrics. There's a bit of overuse of some of the visual effects, but overall it's really nicely done.
Various Anime -
"In the Year 2525"
They did a good job here of incorporating a bunch of different series to fit the song and emphasize the power of the song's message.
A Dog of Flanders -
"No One"
I'm not a huge fan of Alicia Keys, but this video made me love this song. This song in combination with the visuals is really poignant.
And my personal favorite:
Mononoke/Ayakashi (Bakeneko arc) -
"Let's Go! Kusuriuri!"
I think this video is brilliant in the choice of song (lyrics perfectly match the anime), and I think it's amazing someone had the time on their hands to time the visuals so perfectly. This is a 10/10 for me.