YouTube is home to many different kinds of videos, each one showcasing how uniquely creative its uploader can be. From amateur clips to educational courses, there are a lot of areas to explore.
And while many users hit up YouTube to learn from tutorials or check out the latest music videos, there's a certain kind of YouTube video that has its own unique draw: videos that are so visually engaging that you can't help but be compelled to watch them.
No matter what the actual concept of the video might be, the right visual execution can make it highly watchable. Some might even trigger ASMR tingles, goosebumps, and shivers. (If you know, you know.)
Here are our picks for the most visually satisfying videos on YouTube, ranging from ones that are dazzling to ones that are relaxing.
9. Mukbang Videos
Mukbang (sometimes spelled meokbang) is a globally trending video genre that involves watching someone eat food. It's a kind of subgenre to the much broader category of food and travel shows.
What makes these videos so engaging? One part is the food that's featured in each episode, which often looks enticing and sucks you in, making you wish you could eat it yourself. The other part is the host, who might be funny, cute, informative, or quirky.
And for ASMR fans, the crunching, slurping, and squishing of food with every bite is an experience you can't replicate elsewhere.
8. Animation Videos
Animation is a wonder of its own. When it's done well, the beauty of motion can hypnotize and mesmerize in ways that live-action never could. It's like every frame is a dazzling painting, and when it all comes together as one fluid sequence, you can't look away.
That's why there are so many animation compilation videos on YouTube, where all kinds of anime scenes are highlighted for their god-tier, high-quality animations—everything from fight scenes to mutant transformations, from slice of life to romantic outings.
7. Incredible Worker Videos
Seeing someone do their job well is a pretty normal occurrence, but seeing someone do a mundane act with seemingly superhuman capability can be amazing to witness—and satisfying to watch.
From badass knife cutting skills to smooth and accurate scythe movements, people who dedicate hours of their life to mastering their professions, hobbies, or interests are downright enthralling.
6. Natural Phenomena Videos
As much as we study nature, one thing remains true: nature is highly unpredictable. That's why we're still surprised whenever new videos come out that showcase natural phenomena from different parts of the world.
What makes these kinds of videos so engaging is that you get to see things that you might never experience in real-life, and you get to watch it happen on screen in real-time. From avalanches to tsunamis, from lightning strikes to tornados, they're always intensely captivating.
But it's not just the intensity that draws us in. Nature is a beautiful canvas on which we can view moving paintings, like the Northern Lights (aurora borealis) or a mysteriously massive flock of birds.
5. Inside the Guitar Videos
Listening to a slow and mellow tune on someone's guitar might be relaxing, but being able to see how the strings vibrate with every pluck and strum is infinitely more interesting.
There are many YouTube videos that feature musicians playing guitars and other stringed instruments, but the ones that we find most engaging are the ones that are filmed from inside the guitars—ones that show us every string's vibration over the course of the song.
It's even better when the view from inside the guitar looks out toward a scenic view, from beaches to sunsets to mountain ranges.
4. Plant Time Lapse Videos
Plants are all around us and they're already pretty beautiful to look at. But they grow so slowly. Day by day, you don't see much change—it's only when you fast-forward via time lapse do you see the unseen magic.
One of the strangest genres of YouTube videos involves time lapses of plant growth, starting from seed to bud to flower and beyond. You get to see how the roots extend, the shoots come up, and how every plant diverges in its own unique way as it grows.
If you want to witness the hidden magic of the natural world, there's really no better way than with plant time lapse videos.
3. Chain Reaction Videos
Have you ever seen a line of dominoes tumble over, with each one leading into the next? Or maybe the more complex version known as a Rube Goldberg machine, in which many independent actions complete a causal chain that ends with a bang?
These chain reaction videos are so mesmerizing to watch, not only because you're constantly guessing what's going to happen next, but also because you get to see the creativity and patience that goes into each setup.
Some videos use typical home and office items (cups, saucers, rulers, etc.), while others use mechanical parts that are strategically assembled together for a smooth and perfect performance.
2. Slow Motion Videos
What would it feel like if time slowed down around us? Things that happen in an instant—faster than we can process with our measly eyes and brain—would be laid bare for us to watch.
And, as luck would have it, many "instantaneous" things actually look marvelous when tremendously slowed down. Thus, the popularity of the slow motion video genre on YouTube.
You'll be surprised by how much truly occurs in something as mundane as a water balloon popping or a face being punched, and the resulting slo-mo videos are often works of art.
1. Panda Videos
Pandas might just be the most adorable creatures on Earth. They're cute, they're fluffy, they're clumsy, they're playful, and you probably feel compelled to pet them whenever you see one.
Of course, we can't have pandas in our homes. The best way to witness them is through YouTube videos, and there are many satisfying videos that show the many facets of panda behavior. You won't be able to look away.
