Steve Burns
“Bookends” by Simon and Garfunkel
Pachelbel’s “Canon in D Major”
Anyway, just in case it hasn’t been mentioned, I can listen over and over to Time To Say Goodbye, and I love this video.
Sometimes the most beautiful songs are from bands that are not the usual suspects. A good example is the German Avantgarde/Industrial-band ‘Einstürzende Neubauten’.
Infamous for their drumming on industrial waste, sheets of metal and tubing, they nevertheless managed to write one of the most beautiful love-songs ever - Stella Maris
here it is with English subs: Stella Maris
and here a HQ live-version (even more beautiful but without subs) Stella Maris live
See this is a weird thing with me and jazz stuff. The tune you’ve linked to just sounds like dull big band music to me, whereas the Mingus thing I linked to sounds fucking mental - everybody in the place jumping around to an absolutely shit hot band. I don’t know, perhaps I’m not getting the skill involved or something. It would hardly be the first time.
I’m not even going to look at the first hundred posts on the thread though. Aaaaaargh, I don’t even want to know what youtube videos I posted. Was there Bauhaus?
Are we sure those two aren’t French? Their profiles confused me. Is that mean? Sorry. 
Anyway, I actually enjoyed the video more, because could read the subtitles.
Thank you. I was almost certain it wasn’t an original melody. Now I have to see what the original lyrics were.
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pretty sure the band is German - native German here and I can understand the lyrics quite well. Here they are on Wikipedia (english)
I prefer the Gabriel & Dresden version.
Speaking of Gabriel & Dresden, I’ll nominate As the Rush Comes.
Yeah. Someone upthread mention Fairytale of New York. Great song. And there’s a lot about is that is beautiful. But while Shane MacGowan’s vocals are very moving and appropriate, incredibly so, I’d hardly call them beautiful. Yeah, I know, there’s beauty in their honesty etc. but I was reading this thread differently (which makes my interpretation of beauty right! ;)).
To each their own.
Good pick. Which is about to make me a hypocrite with my next pick. Moby’s not known as a great singer, but I find Porcelain very beautiful.
Sufjan Stevens - For the Widows in Paradise, For the Fatherless in Ypsilanti
The Gunners Dream by Pink Floyd
When You Dream by Barenaked Ladies - Odd since I’m not a parent, but I still like the song
Aria di Mezzo Carattere from, of all places, a final fantasy game
Ave Maria by Schubert
I’m not religious either. Not by any measure. “Amazing Grace” is a beautiful song, and it doesn’t take a Judy Collins to sing it beautifully.
If you like that song, you should listen to Jon Randall’s version (he co-wrote the song). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohSrY6DOA2I&feature=related
It’s just hauntingly beautiful. Not a mainstream release; it’s from the Homestuck soundtrack, which is chock full of incredible music from incredible people. This song is a personal favorite.
My bad, slip of the keyboard, that would be 19th century, of course **—**not like me to blur the line between the Classical and Romantic Periods. Only Ludwig Van can do that, what with his tiring of owning the Classical (much like Camden, New Jersey’s top pimp owning his whores), then inventing/ushering-in the Romantic Period with his 9th Symphony **—**the greatest (ergo, most “achingly beautiful”) musical composition of all time **—**past, present or future.
Sigur Ros’ Milano
Listen to the whole thing, just once. In the car while stuck in traffic is a good place.
-I probably never would have ever heard this whole song, except my ride to work played it on teh way home, so I was stuck. Partway through the song I started spacing off a little, and by the end of the song I didn’t know if I was crying or smiling; all I knew was that I just made a little mental video of my own to it, and…
This song is the sound of crystal-blue winter, snowflakes fading in and out in 8mm home-movie fashion. Kids mugging for the camera with snowballs behind their backs. It’s bare aspens, bright against the blue sky, with snow and sun and earth all competing to outshine each other.
Anyway…I don’t know if I’ll ever get into anything else of theirs, though I’ve tried a bit here and there. But Milano is just…
Don’t bother trying to translate the lyrics. They are just vocalizations, not words, not in any language, except that of fierce, joyful sun-kissed winter.
Dang. I like the song a lot, apparantly!
A lot of my votes have already been covered but it’s fascinating to see what others consider “achingly beautiful”. I’ll just add my favorite.
Michael Jackson She’s Out of My Life
And how could I forget The Wind that Shakes the Barley by Dead Can Dance? Lisa Gerrard’s voice is just… indescribable.
Say what? No Azam Ali?
From one of the groups she’s a vocalist in, Vas:
Kali Basa
Prayer for Soheil
In the Garden of Souls
From her solo stuff:
Abode
Endless Reverie
Really, though, all of her stuff is great. Her voice is hauntingly beautiful.
And now, some hymns n’ stuff:
Down To the River to Pray
Nearer My God To Thee
O Magnum Mysterium
Shalom Chaverim (ignore the cheesy piano intro and butchered Hebrew)
Fiddler on the Roof - Sabbath Prayer
Really, I could go on, but that’s enough links for now.
The cover of Hurt by Johnny Cash.