The Top 15 Local Music Videos of 2015.

The Official Central Track Staff List.

Once upon a time, having a music video actually was enough of a novelty where it could help a local music act set itself apart from its peers. In recent years, though, that no longer cuts it.

More than that, locally produced music videos have these days so stepped up their production values that it's sometimes hard to distinguish a Hollywood-made clip from one cut together by an enterprising college kid with a high-def camera and some easily accessed editing software.

Anyway, all that is to say that most every music video included in this batch of our favorite videos from locally tied acts the past year could easily stand side by side with anything MTV would run if they still bothered to show videos in 2015.

Yes, these suckers are slick as hell, and each adds an extra little element that furthers our enjoyment of these songs, too.

See Also:
• Locals On Lists. // Every Year-End List That Featured A Dallas-Based Artist.
• Show Stoppers. // Our Favorite Concert Shots of 2015.
• The Year In Leon Bridges. // 45 Ways Leon Bridges Had A Way Better 2015 Than You Did.
• Concerts of the Year. // Our 40 Favorite Concerts of 2015.

From kickass special effects to complex plots, choreography and paid professional actors, these clips go above and beyond simple promotion. They stand as pieces of art all their own — so much so that we thought each of these top 15 videos of 2015 deserved a little superlative to call their own. — Cory Graves

Award: Least Safe For Work.
Artist: These Machines Are Winning.
Song: “KURU”
Director: Ryan Hartsell and These Machines Are Winning.

Award: Best Feats of Everyday Athleticism.
Artist: Bobby Sessions.
Song: “Peyton Manning”
Director: Jeremy Biggers.

Award: Best Breaking and Entering.
Artist: Radioactivity.
Songs: “Battered” + “Stripped Away”
Director: Keven McAlester.

Award: Best Animation.
Artist: Mystery Skulls.
Song: “Magic”
Director: Double Ninja.

Award: Most Gratuitous Use of Symbolism.
Artist: Lower Dens.
Song: “To Die in L.A.”
Director: SSION.

Awards: Sexiest Corpse and Biggest Twist Ending.
Artist: LEV.
Song: “Never Let You Go”
Director: Aaron Brown.

Award: Best Fight Sequence.
Artist: Telegraph Canyon.
Song: “Why Let it Go”
Directors: Brandon Schwindt and Wayne Floyd.

Award: Most Heartbreaking Concept.
Artist: Kaela Sinclair.
Song: “Original Sin”
Director: Ryan Robins.

Award: Best Shameless Plug of Your Other Band's Record.
Artist: Rhett Miller & Madison King.
Song: “Feel Like Fallin' in Love”
Director: Josh Jordan.

Award: Best Use of Stunt Doubles.
Artist: Brave Young Lion.
Song: “Girls”
Director: Taylor Scott.

Award: Best Cinematography.
Artist: Conner Youngblood.
Song: “The Badlands”
Director: Johannes Greve Muskat.

Award: Most Low-Key Cameos.
Artist: The Outfit, TX.
Song: “All Bills Paid” (feat. Devy Stonez)
Director: Jeff Adair.

Award: Best Use of Green Screen.
Artist: 88 Killa.
Song: “The List”
Director: Jeremy Biggers.

Award: Best Low-Budget Video.
Artist: Pearl Earl.
Song: “Karaoke Superstar”
Director: Rusty Ayrton Chapman.

Award: Best Video Inspired By Instagram.
Artist: Leon Bridges.
Song: “Coming Home”
Director: Chip Tompkins.