Good thread, 5 stars.
Some parts made not make alot of sense since I didn't proof read it and it was rushed.
Chihiro Onitsuka
I knew that 'infection' was quite a hit when it came out and I heard it then and loved it. Later on I heard other songs like 'Dining Chicken', 'Sign' and such, though they didn't caught my attention much, and I just forgot about her. Over 2 years later, I heard Ryuseigun from downloading the PV at Aznpop and loved it, I also got to hear Gekkou which I loved, and by then my tastes have matured alot compared to when I first heard 'infection' and with all the raving here from luminaire etc, I went and picked up 'Sugar high' from the local store which has been sitting on the shelves forever and absolutely loved it.
the Brilliant Green
One of the names I've just recognise before I have even heard their music. A drama/movie was on TV with the song (the song was playing in the ending, where a couple was at a beach), and from what I heard I loved it instantly. I saw the name "the Brilliant Green" in the credits but couldn't read the song title fast enough (it was in Japanese). The next day I went on WinMX and searched for tbg, and amongst the song titles, I thought 'Angel song' sounded pretty cool so I gave that a shot and got the song I was looking for! (The same thing happened with Ayu's 'appears', I got the right song at the pick of the hat)
After that, I checked out a few songs which I didn't find too memorable until several years later when my tastes matured more and when BrightLight recommended "Hello Another Way", and when all 4 albums were uploaded to Jpopmusic tracker.
LOVE PSYCHEDELICO
My cousin from HK recommended them to me back in 2001 (I think), and didn't think much of it because I couldn't find anything by them. Until jpmp3.com (back when I still used it, damn the spyware) had LOVE PSYCHEDELICO III, I DLed it and didn't think much of it until my tastes matured.
CORE OF SOUL
Someone here uploaded 'November rain' and 'Trash the pride', I gave them a try and loved 'November rain' to pieces. I then read more about them at '
Project J'. I found their 'RAINBOW' album on a tracker later on and loved every part of it, especially songs like 'Saint Darkness' and such, I've yet to have gotten the mini-album, but will do so once I find a job.
Mika Nakashima
Back in the days (probably 2001) when there was a forum called AyuDesign forum, a member called James always posted about her new release information (I particularly remember the 'Helpless rain' cover). I eventually downloaded WILL (after 'TRUE' came out, and because the cover was so sexy and mesmerizing, I gave it a try) and loved her voice and the song. Later on I got the chance to download the WILL and ONE SURVIVE PV (On a 56k dial-up...) and was in awe when I saw the WILL PV. And when FIND THE WAY came out I contemplated about purchasing the single, though when 'Yuki no hana' was released, both the song and the cover was too alluring to pass up, which became the first Mika CD I brought. After I brought LOVE, she has definately rose many positions in my books.
Hitomi Yaida
I first saw a snippet of her "I'm here saying nothing" PV on TV talking about the success of her 'Candelize' album. James from AyuDesign quite a fan of Yaiko and was saying how i/flancy has been inside his CD player for ages. I eventually to hear ANDANTE and My Sweet Darlin' which I love. But when a particular channel here showed her 'Music Pool 2002 live', it was that that blew me away completely. Her live singing, personality, and energy with just her band and guitar without the need of any fancy costumes or props was enough to put on an excellent show.