What is the most beautiful song you've ever heard?

For me it’s Erik satie’s Gymnopedie no. 1. I listened to a dramatized audiobook of lord of the rings a bunch when I was a kid. They played gymnopedie no 1 when bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf and the elves sailed to valinor, and it made me cry every time

The Ecstasy of Gold - Ennio Morricone

The Blower's Daughter by Damien Rice is a favourite of mine.

I’m pretty fond of “Claire de Lune”

Samson by Regina Spektor has to be up there for me.

https://youtu.be/p62rfWxs6a8?si=8JLpHy7IDCO6v0EB

Radiohead - Nude

Surprised no one said samuel barber - adagio for strings yet.

I was at a target, and there was a guy playing the song Hallelujah on a violin. I was waiting for an Uber and hearing that song was really amazing so I actually asked my Uber driver to stop and gave him some money for such a good performance.

Dvorak Symphony No 9, Largo

God I am getting crazy goosebumps just listening to this again. I love the 9th symphony so much.

Always thought "Kiss from a Rose" by Seal was very beautiful.

One of my all time favorites is the first opening theme of the anime Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex

Heyr himna smiður - a medieval Icelandic hymn, set to music by Þorkell Sigurbjörnsson

piped.video link

Ocean by John Butler is amazing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdYJf_ybyVo

I'll probably think of some others and may update this as I think of them

Some years ago I stumbled upon this Norwegian artist (I'm not Norwegian). This is a very beautiful song.

Eva Weel Skram - Evig Eies

This is hard to answer as there are a few:

Manchester Orchestra - The Silence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s3ytiYZS8g&t=348

The Boxer Rebellion - Here I am https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgkhpDBYDpo&t=2

Amber Run - Fickle Game https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xu3_bNLR328&t=2

Foals - Spanish Sahara https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYoINidnLRQ&t=2

The Nights by Avicii makes me quite emotional.

I think it is impossible to just have one.

I am a sucker for soundtracks but soundtracks do cheat a little bit just because you get emotionally invested into the movie/game/tv show and have such great memories with them it is hard not to find them amazing.

Test Drive or Forbidden Friendship from the Movie How to Train your Dragon. Is the first ones that came to my mind when you say beautiful song.

The Halo theme song.

Good Riddance from the game Hades covered by Rachel Hardy. (Also Anything from Rachel Hardy. She has an amazing voice and does an amazing job covering songs IMO.)

May it be by (Enya) (yet another movie sound track Lord of the Rings. lol)

The Light in Us all (Planet Coaster)

I see this is a very weird list I have come up with. These are just the ones that came into my head first.

the lark ascending by vaughan williams

https://youtu.be/ZR2JlDnT2l8

Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence https://youtu.be/1OZDaRhHHyM?feature=shared

Prolly Cellophane by FKA twigs. And I heard about the song from the stupid dog meme.

Another really good one is Widow in the Window by Great Big Sea.

And Hijo de la Luna by Mecano.

And Lily Allen’s cover of Somewhere Only We Know.

And, it’s an incredibly sad song, but Two Women by Nora Jane Struthers.

I'm not sure what I think the most beautiful song I've ever heard is, but I know my mind usually goes to two songs:

Pastoral, by a man who went by the name of Moondog. He was a legendary blind composer, playing on the streets of New York City between the late '40s through to the early '70s.

He's kind of a "your favorite musician's favorite musician's favorite musician" figure, and was known to play several instruments of his own invention (one of which I believe is used in this song, but I'm not sure). This is a very minimal song, but beauty doesn't always demand grandeur.

Second would be Slips Away by Peter Silberman, the lead singer of a band called The Antlers (who also have a bunch of really moving tracks in their discography).

This one is also very simple, and quite melancholy, but I think it says all that needs saying. If I have a funeral when I pass, I'd really like this to be played at it.

Hard to choose one, but Metallica - Fade to Black.

I can't come up with just one and this list changes over time a lot for me. But here is a current top 3 for me

Dry the River - Weights and Measures

Tallest Man on Earth - Dark Bird is Home

Elbow - One Day Like This

Wake by The Antlers

https://tidal.com/track/3105744

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACa9congGPk&t=3

Its impact is especially felt by listening to the album in order. Because the whole thing is a metaphor for an abusive relationship told through the lens of a cancer patient and her caretaker.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5gRvQtw0Rwo

The Microphones - I want wind to blow

Not just this track, but this entire album is among one of the better albums I've ever heard. The singing, the production style and the lyrics. It's an absolute masterpiece

I couldn't pick just one, but these come to mind right now:

Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps https://youtu.be/oIIxlgcuQRU

Loads of songs by Anohni / Antony and the Johnsons but particularly this one Hope There's Someone https://youtu.be/LyMGEq82uL4

I have multiple answers. Here's one: Anytime Anywhere by milet

The first thing that came to my mind was "Long, Long, Long" by the Beatles [Spotify] [YouTube] [Tidal].

Don't Wake the Scarecrow by the Felice Brothers

The Seed - Aurora. Only ever heard her Runaway till recently. But this one actually made me cry. She did good on this one.

The Seed - Aurora

Kaleidoscope Heart is near the top of my list.

The Greatest Show On Earth by Nightwish. It's about 17 minutes long, plus an epilogue narrated by Richard Dawkins.

The album leaf - until the last

Ill mind of hopsin 7. It's about his journey to find God, only to hear nothing and return to his life of enjoying things but acknowledging that if God is there and wanted us to live different, then he wants God to tell us this directly instead of being cryptic.

Gilbert O'Sullivan - Alone Again must rank amongst the saddest & also most beautiful

Merzbow, discography.

From NieR Automata - Weight of the World https://youtu.be/P_yaecJ11JQ?si=e5mDeU-lfM1G1E6q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqF91elA4vE

Those were the days performed by Alexandrov Ensemble: https://youtu.be/Jc_n7hsedGE. Although the version by Mary Hopkin from 1960s is also pretty good.

But also Dmitri Shostakovich - Jazz suite No. 2 - VI. - Waltz II. Perhaps that should take the 1st place. I have a memory of replaying this one over and over at night at grandma's house on her radio from tape. I was probably replaying it for like 2 hours.
4 minutes, flip tape, fast forward, flip tape, 4 minutes, repeat.

Anything Miya Folick sings.

She doesn't even sing the type of music I like, but her voice is downright angelic.

2007: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNT4W-SIL2A

Bad Thing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp5aYXL24vo

She dances like she's auditioning for Napoleon Dynamite 2 though, which is a little weird

Mary and the storm by blitzkid

John Hopkins - Abandon Window

This song feels like the the sun on my face. Lajtha Lassu by A Hawk and a Hacksaw

I always loved the Forrest Gump intro theme.

Teya Dora - Ramonda

Yeah, I'm a Eurovision fan.

The Letter That Never Came or Eva Cassidy's rendition of Somewhere Over The Rainbow.

Rivers of Light soundtrack from Disney’s Animal Kingdom

anything by Vomir

Gnesa Wilder. The lyrics are just so inspiring.

Not sure if I could list an absolute number one on that list but one of the big ones would be

When the Children Cry

Fisted and Forgotten by Glass Casket