Alright, long ass post coming up.
Off The Beatles' Abbey Road, all the way from Sun King, through Mean Mr. Mustard, Polythene Pam, She Came In Through the Bathroom Window, Golden Slumbers and Carry That Weight is an amazing series of songs, eventually wrapping up with:
[noembed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7a_8F6gflxQ[/noembed]
As a sort of climax you could say.
[noembed]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQsPv4FMyLg[/noembed]
This one of my favorite build-ups, but Sigur Ros have many others as well. Including Glósóli (off the album Takk) and Innà mér syngur vitleysingur (off the album Með suð à eyrum við spilum endalaust).
The Beatles also have some other songs that just sounds so fucking cool I can't help but smiling when hearing it, including Happiness is a Warm Gun, during the lyrics: when I hold you in my arms, and I feel my finger on your trigger, I know, nobody can do me no harm *because* happiness is a warm gun
Also, The Velvet Underground have some songs that have equal climax moments, for example Oh! Sweet Nuthin' off Loaded, and Heroin off The Velvet Underground & Nico.
Daft Punk's live album Alive 2007 is filled with remixes of their songs where they've created amazing build-ups and climax moments.
Nobuo Uematsu, the composer for the Final Fantasy video games series is amazing at creating musical climaxes, evident in for example To Zanarkand or Besaid Island off the FFX Piano Collections, One Winged Angel or J-E-N-O-V-A off FFVII Piano Collections, or my personal favorites, the five last tracks off the FFX-2 Piano Collections: Cave's Nightmare, Demise, 1000 Words, Epilogue ~Reunion~ and Eternity ~Memories of Light and Waves~.
Tool have some amazing climaxes like in Wings for Marie and Rosetta Stoned off the album 10.000 Days.
Led Zeppelin made some of my favorite songs of all time, with epic build ups like in Dazed and Confused, How Many More Times and Stairway to Heaven (off Led Zeppelin (self-titled) and Led Zeppelin IV respectively).
The musical Les Miserables has some outstanding build-ups like At the End of the Day and A Heart Full of Love.
Queens of the Stone Age's epic ballads off their first two albums (self-titled and Rated R): You Can't Quit Me Baby and I Think I Lost My Headache.
Them Crooked Vultures has a great build-up and climax towards the end of Spinning in Daffodils. Mew's Comforting Sounds is another one. I love the climax with the percussions at every beat towards the end The Decemberists' Sons & Daughters. Deadmau5' Strobe is another swan song with a beautiful climax. Lastly I could mention Rage Against the Machine's Wake Up amongst others.
Needless to say, I am a fan of ballads, build-ups and climaxes. I hope you guys can enjoy some of these as much as I do. :]
