@rockfan The first time I heard (or heard of!) Elvis Costello was a live performance on Saturday Night Live and it WAS incredible.
It was 1977 and My Aim is True was a new release.
I was transfixed. This gawky guy with a little four-piece band playing stripped-down rock was such a relief from the overwrought prog-rock and cliche guitar bands of the day.
My Aim is True is still one of my favorite albums.
Much more recently, I was really smitten with Tune-Yards, especially when I saw a live video and saw that Merrill Garbus was sampling herself right on stage and looping it to create a little orchestra. Link
Also, I’d never listened to Fiona Apple until a few months ago. I was pretty blown away by her album Tidal and the more recent The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw And Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do.