It's great when you discover a gem of an album released long into the career of an artist, that you presumed would be derivative and boring.

I was just delving into Lou Reed's back catalougue, and presumed his nineties releases would be dull. I was presently surprised.

"Magic and Loss" (1993) (post Andy Warhol / death theme) and "Set the Twilight Reeling" (1996) are both great.

Any other examples of the above you'd care to share?