I hate the way that the 77 looks with its front end. What other front ends that look cooler will be a direct replacement for the current one?

Unfortunately for the owners of the 73-77 Gen 4 Elkys very little is available for any type of custom front end pieces from aftermarket manufacturers. The front ends are interchangeable though if you prefer the look of the lets say the 73 over the 77.

what about the front end from a different chevrolet or from an el camino out of the 4th generation.

Any 73-76 El Camino front will work on your 77. You can also put a Laguna S-3 nose on without much effort. I do have one of these noses if you want to do something like that. If you go to http://www.elcaminostore.com/new/fastestelko.htm you can see what it looks like.

i believe any front clip from any 73-77 elky or 73-77 chevelle/malibu will work.