I think I would have to disagree with most of you guys. Music that is universally loved (that is, loved all over the world by all ages, cultures, etc.) probably isn't going to be a rock song or anything that stems from western culture. I'm not sure to many Arabs would be sitting around listening to a beatles song, no matter how great. I think the only music that is truly universal is music that is void of any cultural connotations (lyrics definatly would fall into that category). What comes to mind is classical forms of music. But even that is based on western culture, what about Indians who have completely different scales (they probably think our 7 note chromatic scale sounds fruity as we think their 22 one does).

I think true universal "music" is something like wind blowing through trees or thunder crashing, or waves hitting the coast. Natural sounds that trascend political and cultural boundaries. Just my thought