What about flutes- like recorders even the best players can be sweet but the notes are more monotonous-sounding to my ears than other woodwind, perhaps the worst offender of this would be the panpipes. To my ear the oboe/ cor anglais is very expressive ,as I believe also is the sop sax and the clarinet. The Irish Pipes are also remarkably evocative, in comparison with the other bagpipes. Flutes can be played remarkably fast in comparison with many other wind, and although they can sound ethereal I cant feel much emotion behind the sound. Tenor banjos are also totally expressionless but I think of them as a partly percussive.