[jhnbrbr]

Good question, Hawk, but hard to answer because I don't think words can ever fully convey the feelings music evokes. Nevertheless, I often assocate a piece with a specific human emotion, eg warmth, love, tenderness, defiance, determination, fortitude, tranquility, jubilation, etc. Sometimes I go one better and supply my own "programme" (which may be completely different from what the composer had in mind). When i listen to Vierne's "Hymn du Soleil" I imagine some sort of pagan ritual taking place on a hillside just before dawn, and at the end, a large red sun rises majestically over the top of a hill, flooding the world with light. I always imagine Franck's violin sonata (written as a wedding present) chronicling the history of a relationship between two lovers. For music which has the most powerful effect on me, I would use the word "transcendent" because it seems to lift me out of the everyday world to a different place altogether. It is, as you say, almost like a drug. Other words I might use in praise are "intoxicating" or "hypnotic". On the other hand, if I wanted to insult a piece I would describe it as "easy listening"!