For the Shins, I think my personal rating is:
Chutes Too Narrow
Wincing the Night Away
Oh, Inverted World
Ports of Morrow
I really liked the third, but not the fourth. It's hard for me to rate the first three, sometimes I think one is the best, and then sometimes another one.
When I was young, I'd go to CD stores, but I wouldn't be getting the new stuff because I had this huge backlog of music to get. It started with Queen. Now I buy everything on Google Play and just get the electronic version instead of the CDs. I missed the vinyl age :/. I'm not sure if I'm at any risk with digital ownership, but I also download some to my devices. Though one annoying thing with just getting the digital versions is you don't get the liner notes, which for some artists is important.
I didn't know about Laura Marling; I liked her in Noah and the Whale. I don't know the other artists either, but I'll look into them.
One band that I had listened to some years past but forgot about for some time is Matt Pond PA. Not sure if you've heard of them but you may like them. Kind of Indy/Folk singer/songwriter I have Several Arrows Later and like it, and also Last Light, but I prefer Several Arrows Later.