The quintessential answer... The predictable one... but... the honest one.
Beethoven's 9th symphony changed the way that I looked at music forever. I used to love rock music and occasionally listened to hip-hop music, but once I heard the Maazel recording with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, my jaw dropped. So much anger in the first movement! So much majesty in the second movement! So much love in the third movement! and yes! So much pure love in the fourth movement. The words that Beethoven chose for his fourth movement and the way that it was done completely changed my life. It was as if that Beethoven realized that all of the hardships of the past are done and that you should only look to happiness in the future. What a genius!
You can scorn me all you want
. But I loved it and I always will.