How is it that all of a sudden I get the Arctic Monkeys?

I never fell for the Arctic Monkeys like the rest of the world did. I appreciated their obvious musical talent. I enjoyed the much-lauded lyrics to a point, often finding them too obviously British, a bit too kitchen-sink drama. I'm probably unusual in that I don't particularly like lyrics which are focused on the toils and tribulations of the everyday, or the ordinary, prefering instead (on the whole) lyrics which are more enlightening, more philosophical - those containing references which force me to think. Musically, the Arctic's brand of jangly, spiky, 60s guitars didn't hit the spot neither, so the first two albums never made it into my collection.
Fast forward to this month and Arctic Monkeys' 'Crying Lightning' is probably my favourite song of the year. I'm a total sucker for American music, so I was hoping Josh Homme would inject the band with the substance I believe they were previously lacking. So far, so good - the producer seems to have done the trick.
The reviews for 'Humbug' haven't been bad, far from it, but all of those I have read seem to say the same thing: Arctic Monkeys have taken a new direction which is going to upset their massive fan-base; that the lyrics are different, that the sound is harder. I'm happy about this. I wanted them to shed their British indie skin in favour of something more gripping, more forceful, more sleazy and judging from the few tracks I've heard so far, they've accomplished it. Good on them.
It got me to thinking about why I always seem to get into my favourite bands after the release of their third album. Kings of Leon are another example. Just before the release of their first album, people recommended it to me claiming it was 'right up my street'. I didn't like it at all, same with the second album. However, "Because of the Times" arrived and I fell in love with it. It's a similar pattern with some of my favourite bands:
u2 - I prefer War over Boy and October.
Modest Mouse - they got me on 4th album, Good News....
Nick Cave - bit different, but it wasn't until Boatman's Call that I suddenly started tuning in.
Wilco - the 4th album ‘Yankee Hotel Foxtrot’ - the first three are OK, but don't touch the beauty of that 4th record.
The National – 3rd album, ‘Alligator’ - still their best record in my opinion.
I think this might make me a bad talent spotter. So many people in this industry seem to fall in love with the first record, complain about the 'difficult second album' and forget the bands by their third attempt, at which point I'm re-evaluating my opinions of such bands.
It just goes to show that to hit people like me, bands do need to be given ample time to develop. It's a strange pattern....