Bonus points for a song that has a good part for that instrument.
Synth
Pro musician here.
There are so many, but a hurdy gurdy has gotta be up there. Played by someone who knows more than the basics, it sounds like something a medieval king would demand played to relax.
(They’re also among the most expensive instruments out there, as the only makers today are extremely talented individual ones; no big company like Fender or anything makes them. If you see one, you know it was handmade by a master.)
I also love the sound of the Crwth. It’s from Wales, and is sort of like a regional spinoff/precursor to the violin.
Dual-rectified electric guitar.
IDK why, but the hurdy gurdy has a pretty alluring sound, in my opinion. So I’m probably going with either that or acoustic guitar.
Edit:
I really like this song using hurdy gurdy because to me it kinda sounds like a soundtrack piece for some prison action film.
I am also a fan of the hurdy gurdy. Here’s my entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypuaJLHK_LQ
Damn! That hit hard! Thank you for that one.
Piano or Violin for solo instruments, but I love a good concerto or symphony.
Electric guitar.
Not a single instrument, but I love a horn section, too.
Drums - pretty much any single by Street Drum Corp
Probably acoustic guitar tbh, I love acoustic covers, but Piano is amazing too, and electric guitar.
Acoustic covers are just so raw and nice to listen to.
Vibraphone and marimba
Very close, steel drum
I’m big fan of pianos (but not all piano genres) and I have learned that I really like piano run through a phaser and doubled with a Japanese koto
Gawd I love koto…
Piano. Supertramp, “From Now On”.
And the sax in that tune is pretty great also.
Trumpet. I think it’s cause that’s the instrument I first learned music on in elementary school.
Harpsichord. Its just such a nice and unique timbre
Just love a heavy well produced guitar riff. Might be a boring answer but that’s the one for me.
Eric Shenkman from Spin Doctors is the cool riff King for my money.
I’m also fan of a particular type of guitar riff that I can only describe as “crunchy” with my limited music vocabulary.
The best example I can give is Spirit in the Sky. The lyrics are cheesy, but damn the guitars are fine in that track.
You might be thinking about a sound with a lot of distortion
Spirit in the Sky specifically is a fuzz running on a near-dead battery, so it’s a bit of an odd one. I think the broad approach to the sound is fairly popular though. Stone Foxes come to mind as an example
To this day, nobody knows how they got that unique guitar distortion sound in that song. It’s been long-forgotten, even by those that were at the session.
I feel like Moist does amazing crunchy but melodic riffs personally
Sometimes stuff is just popular for a good reason. I love loads of different styles of guitar, but I think my favourite heavy riff is probably the chorus one starting at 2:02 in Saor’s Children of the Mist
Or maybe Flying Whales because, I mean, it’s Flying Whales
The intro to Power by KMFDM and the intro to Sold by Imperanon are two of my favourite riffs, but I love all kinds of heavy/death metal and industrial and hardcore punk rock and classic rock. Just gets my testosterone going. Makes ma ballz buzz.
I love a good piano piece.
One of my favorites: https://youtu.be/zucBfXpCA6s
Her Hungarian Rhapsody performance is my favorite!
Ooh… I will have to check that out! Thanks for the suggestion.
That was a lovely performance! Great pick, thanks for sharing it