Lyrics are definitely most important to me, but the music behind them is important too.
I see that some people have used the term "music snob", here, in a rather snobby fashion. How ironically delicious, lol. Sometimes when people are listening to shitty music I admittedly roll my eyes and gag at their bad taste. Shitty music entails most (not all!) things "mainstream" that you hear on the radio. Music is like other media in many ways. By this I mean that media is separated into "Art" and "Entertainment". Music that is art is akin to a good film or literary piece, whereas music that is mainstream bullshit is akin to reality TV or celebrity gossip magazines. I call bullshit for what it is. People propagate bullshit because they're ignorant. I agree that we should respect personal tastes, but only to a reasonable degree i.e. If you believe in "Intelligent Design" over Evolution then you are a fucking ignorant moron. This is not a scientific debate, you can't argue for intelligent design and expect to be taken seriously by anyone with any credibility.
I often I hear music that I myself don't like but I can respect it, I see that it has the same effect on its listener as my music has on me. The most important thing to remember here is that "good" music is not judged to be "good" by you or by me upon first listening to it. Music is judged by time, in time - the same way books and films are.
i.e. Here's an example of a song that has stood the test of time (notice how even though it was written in the 1970s it is still very relevant
David Bowie - Life on Mars
It's a God awful small affair
To the girl with the mousey hair,
But her mummy is yelling, "No!"
And her daddy has told her to go,
But her friend is no where to be seen.
Now she walks through her sunken dream
To the seats with the clearest view
And she's hooked to the silver screen,
But the film is sadd'ning bore
For she's lived it ten times or more.
She could spit in the eyes of fools
As they ask her to focus on
Sailors
Fighting in the dance hall.
Oh man!
Look at those cavemen go.
It's the freakiest show.
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy.
Oh man!
Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show.
Is there life on Mars?
It's on America's tortured brow
That Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow.
Now the workers have struck for fame
'Cause Lennon's on sale again.
See the mice in their million hordes
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads.
Rule Britannia is out of bounds
To my mother, my dog, and clowns,
But the film is a sadd'ning bore
'Cause I wrote it ten times or more.
It's about to be writ again
As I ask you to focus on
Sailors
Fighting in the dance hall.
Oh man!
Look at those cavemen go.
It's the freakiest show.
Take a look at the lawman
Beating up the wrong guy.
Oh man!
Wonder if he'll ever know
He's in the best selling show.
Is there life on Mars?