I have a Note 3 and rate it highly.
The key factors when I bought it, were that the phone would play Flac files with good sound quality, plus the phone could also take photos and videos, at full HD resolution. One of my friends had already upgraded from the Note 2, and was able to show me the picture and video quality, and these were the deciding factors for me.
In practice the phone gets mainly used for taking photos and videos, plus web access, and sending text messaages. Phone calls are a minority use.
I also use an Ipad for web access, where a larger display is helpful (eg Google Maps), so I do find both a phablet and tablet useful tools to have.
Hope this helps.