I will disagree when you say that the personality of the musicians should have no effect on your view of the music. If a band is an ******* to me I'm not going to listen to their music. If a band rapes children with the money I give them by buying their music I'm not going to buy (or listen) to their music. It is frustrating when people try to talk about bands that aren't even vaguely similar to emo music, though...
Also, a recording quality that is too "good" usually turns me off. I like that raw live sound (see: Allure's demo tape, Ten Boy Summer's demo tape, or A River Made To Drown In's recordings).
Btw, check out this hawt picture I found online of A River Made to Drown In:
