Aphex Twin
Selected Ambient Works 85-92, 1992
This one hit like lightning the first time I heard it, and that was from streaming a 30-second sample on CDNow back in summer ’99. Careful readers will note I was already several years late to the party at that point, but “Xtal” is nothing if not timeless. I’m willing to bet on the same magic in 2014. In his prime, Richard D. James laid the foundation for much of what was to become popular in late-90’s electronic music and still is today. If there’s a prettier piece of ambient techno/electronic/IDM/whatever floating around out there in the ether, I’ve yet to hear it.
[audio https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/14312140/01%20Xtal.mp3 ]
The Best Song You'll Hear All Day 