I read and study lyrics to so many songs I can hardly imagine how many lyrics I have memorized. But that said, when I first buy an album and listen to it, the music is the first thing that sticks out. I feel like that's only natural (though it may not be the same for everyone). Once I've listened a couple of times, I am able to better digest the lyrical content but it never comes across right away. It takes usually several listens before I am able to fully engage myself in the lyrics.

So while I will say I have always been partial to lyrics/singing, the music is always what I hear first. And I am in the camp that if the music isn't any good, the lyrics are kinda pointless and lost within it. A good example of this is Reflection Eternal's 2nd album. Kweli was spitting all over that album, but I couldn't begin to tell you what about because I can't get through the bland ass beats well enough to actually listen to how hard he's spitting. But from the few times I was able to listen to the album all the way thru, I remember being sad that I would never fully appreciate what Kweli did lyrically on that album because the beats sucked so bad.