Bridge over Troubled Waters used to be a good song…until I heard Paul Simon screeching it like a sick cat last night. What was he thinking? Paul, it’s time to retire.
Well to be fair, Paul Simon originally sang harmony on that song didn’t he? I think his current music (which I like a lot) is more in his range. He’s said himself he thinks it’s time to hang up his hat.
That said, an old quavery voice can be effective. I love what Trent Raynor had to say about Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt”.
from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurt_(Nine_Inch_Nails_song)
I agree with JHS, Tusk is a really underrated underappreciated album and has the huge advantage of not having been overplayed. But Rumors puts me in a happy place more then Tusk. 
Ave Maria
Halleluja
And no, I’m not religious but these songs fill me with peace
Jeff Buckley’s cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah (probably not the Hallelujah you meant, @ihs76 
)
I do not know Italian, but I still find this song uplifting:
http://lyricstranslate.com/en/Felicita-Happiness.html
Simple lyrics, happy times.
Re Paul Simon / Bridge over Troubled Water. While the song was written by PS, It’s one of the few where Art Garfunkel sung the lead. So, in addition to PS’s aging voice, that’s why it didn’t sound like the song we all knew.
I think if you wanted to demonstrate harmony and unity, they should have persuaded Paul and Art to perform together. Their feud makes Hillary and Bernie look like nothing in comparison 
Simon is going to be 75 in October (according to Wikki)–I would cut him some slack.
I’m cutting Paul Simon plenty of slack - I’m just commenting that it happens to be a song that he wasn’t actually the lead on, just the harmony vocal – so even if his voice had been stronger, it still would not be the sound of the classic song we all remember, that’s all.
Lots of the greats are that same age - Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Roger Daltrey, Pete Townshend, Brian Wilson, Bob Dylan, etc. Some of them are still energetic performers who appear to be ageless and some of them appear like the 70-something men they are (Brian Wilson being the worst – the poor man just sits at the piano and barely engages, which is very sad). DIdn’t mean to derail. Carry on
Re songs that make me happy - I tend to get into an artist and play their whole collection over and over, and that makes me happy to immerse.
Right now, my current immersion is an older band that I think has been way underrated over the years – the Kinks. Part of the reason they never took off as well in the US was that they were banned from touring here at the height of the British Invasion, and the two brothers - Ray and Dave Davies - fought, well, like Simon & Garfunkel, ha ha.
You can’t beat You Really Got Me and All Day and All of the Night for classic garage-rock, and I love the songs that evoke 60’s swinging London and old-time England (Dedicated Follower of Fashion, A Well Respected Man). They had a bunch of albums in the '70s and '80s that never really took off here beyond a few songs, such as Come Dancing which was referenced above.
I have the instrumental music that plays in the background when you’re in Walt Disney World-not just the parks, but the resorts, as well. We call it “bush music” because it comes out of hidden speakers when you’re outside. Sometimes there is nothing better than being instantly mentally transported to your favorite Disney resort and remembering walking around in the early morning with the herons and the egrets keeping you company. I’ve collected it over the decades :), and it’s still a good go-to happy music when dancing around like a lunatic is frowned upon.
Spiritualized. Especially “Let It Come Down”
Any of Yo La Tengo’s Georgia ballads. Especially “Today Is the Day” or “Tears Are In Your Eyes.”
Also, lately Hawaiian slack key guitar. I usually put this on when I have a rush hour commute and/or am stuck in traffic. Keola Beamer is a stress sink.
edit (more): Low. Bedhead. Sam Cooke. John Fahey. Galaxie 500.
“Hungry Heart” by Bruce Springsteen (he has so many songs that are “better,” but this one always makes me smile); “Here Comes My Girl” by Tom Petty; Elvis Costello’s “Angels Want to Wear my Red Shoes.”
Also two songs that are pretty dumb, but long: Meat Loaf’s “Paradise by the Dashboard Light” and “One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer” by George Thorogood. By the time I finish singing along with them, I am always in a better mood than before.
The Kinks are favorites of mine too. Happy music for sure. Can you listen to “Waterloo Sunset” without feeling better?
I like the Kinks just fine, but they are definitely one of those bands for which I reached my maximum life time saturation point many years ago.
I can do the entire baseball sequence of Paradise by the Dashboard Light, so no, it’s not dumb at all
I need to decompress today.
This calms me down and makes me smile.
“Don’t worry be happy”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-diB65scQU
Cyndi Lauper “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” makes me happy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIb6AZdTr-A
Mama Cass singing “Dream a Little Dream of Me” always makes me feel serene.
Here is my latest song to listen to get in the zen zone… Faded.
South City Midnight Lady and Another Park, Another Sunday by The Doobie Brothers.
@LoveTheBard - I love Jeff Buckley’s rendition of Hallelujah, but it always makes me cry.
Some favorite serene songs:
“(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman” - Aretha
“My Girl” - The Temptations
“We’ve Got Tonight”, “Against the Wind”, “Night Moves” - Bob Seger
“The Dock of the Bay” - Otis Redding
“The Pretender” and “The Load Out/Stay” - Jackson Browne
“Wonderful Tonight” - Clapton
Make me want to dance songs:
“Dancing in the Dark” - Sprinsteen
“I Love Rock n Roll” - Joan Jett
“Love Shack” - B-52s
“Only the Good Die Young” - Billy Joel
“Old Time Rock n Roll” - Seger