i'm in a critic mood these days :D
besides the music that i just missed, the most noticeable change was the extra characters..Ruby may as well have been wearing a sign that said "heya, i'm new with the mystery and stuff" and before she was obviously demonic she was a little too Buffy..Bela was the type of person that s2 Dean probably would have killed..things really started to happen towards the end of the season..

I loved the extra characters, and I've said S3 is my favorite for a while, but I've been thinking about this after I rewatched S3...

It's just like this option said. There are some FIERCE episodes in here, reaching some of the highest points ever for Supernatural, but the other episodes are just... okay. There aren't really any bad episodes in it as far as I'm concerned (although I really didn't like Long Distance Call but that has to do with my intense dislike for John Winchester and the manipulative hold he still has over the boys).
Now I think about it I think season 2 as a whole is my favorite, but S3, like S4, lacked a bit of that feeling of cheekiness and mystery there was in season one and two, although S3 at least made up for it with a lot of bitching episodes.

I still prefer S3 over S4, obviously, and probably over S1 too, but I don't think it's my favorite anymore :)

yes, i do agree Lunaste..overall it was an ok season and it really had some of the best eppys! Jus in Bello, BDABR, NRFTW

Jus in Bello and BDABR are one of my favorite episodes throughout the seasons. I loved Bela and Ruby.
But the lack of rock, well, I just say it out loud - it sucked big time! I mean classic rock is one of the first things that comes to my mind when I'm thinking about Dean or the Impala, or SPN overall.
I was so hoping to hear new good songs, that gives me the SPN mood and I didn't have my dose of music from S3.

I really liked the addition of Bela and Ruby. They added a lot to the season as recurring characters rather than one-offs. It broke up what could have been a very monotonous and depressing season, and gave us a distraction from Dean's deal and his impending doom. And yeah, it had some of the best episodes ever - Red Sky at Morning and Dream a Little Dream of Me weren't exactly stellar, but the rest were outstanding!

I loved season 3!The extra characters were fantastic and also the drama that climaxed in every episode due to the impending death of Dean!All the new characters were just captivating!

=( cause' of the writers strike! </3

me being into art and music the colors and the lack of classic rock was the very first thing to stick out for me, i already knew about the added characters so that didn't bother me any.

Like Fifthbitten said, the music, or lack thereof, the bright, bright colours also popped. It was a very unusual season of SPN for me!