This is what I came in to mention, too… I often play it in my head when I need tears in my eyes for an acting job. It actually works more reliably than envisioning a loved one dead.
Sad Romance
Florence and the Machine: Cosmic Love
Go To Hell David Ford
Is a banjo too close to a guitar? Because this is the most simultaneously beautiful and melancholic song I know:
C’mon, guys. A board full of Yankees and not a single mention of Jay Ungar’s Ashokan Farewell?
For shame!
Electric Light Orchestra’s “Fire On High”
Mark Woods
Symphonic metal bands:
Within Temptation
Nightwish
Epica
I’m waaay into this stuff these days. I come from a classical music background, but love heavy metal, too.
Massive Attack - “Antistar”
LOVE it. Strings start about 4 minutes in:
