Phlogiston said:
I'm pretty sure that most people will just answer with their favorites/what they listen to most.
Well then, I will be the exception to that. I don't think Eurodance is the most beautiful music genre ever, but it's still one of my favourites. Same goes for symphonic and power metal, though much of it is still beautiful.
But as for what I really think is the most beautiful music genre ever, I actually have three answers. The first one is without a doubt the winner here so far: classical. Specifically because of all the complex yet meaningful melodies that often come with it. For me, the beauty in the melody itself best comes through if the piece is played with only one musical instrument, which is usually the piano (although Toccata and Fugue in D Minor on the pipe organ = most ominously beautiful thing ever). If it's a grand symphony with multiple instruments playing at once, it may be all spectacular, but just not as special in my opinion.
The second one is new age. Not only is it beautiful, but relaxing as well. Again, it's the melody that really gets me with this genre, although not for its complexity, but for its sheer simplistic beauty coupled with the atmospheric nature of the song. It doesn't really matter whether it has vocals or not. Most importantly, these songs tend to be very spiritual in nature, and with each listening seem to momentarily lift the mind into a higher state of consciousness. Especially with me having strong spiritual beliefs, this really resonates with me especially.
And the third is I guess not one specific genre, but it's the songs that originate in musicals. Why? Because they carry meaning beyond the scope of the song itself, which makes sense given they're typically written in context of a story of some sort, thus having a very cinematic feel to them. It's one thing to listen to "Castle in the Clouds" from Les Miserables by itself, which is by the way a stunningly beautiful song all on its own, all about an innocent fantasy about hope in the world. But put that into context of the entire depressing nature of the play (and now movie), and the whimsical nature of the song shines through even more. You definitely get that sort of additional-meaning concept with instrumental movie (and video game) themes as well, since it's often hard to know what the song is even about without the context of the movie with there being no lyrics.
Yeah, I totally sounded like an eccentric philosopher with this post, didn't I? XD