Well if our generation ever does take over, expect Mulholland Drive to top the Sight and Sound Poll some day. I actually owe my openness in film to the somewhat narrow AFI list. As I was initially going through it, there were a few films I had no intention of watching. Singin' in the Rain is in actuality the film that broke the wall along with Yankee Doodle Dandy. I had no interest in musicals at all, and I had a passionate hatred of Disney (for political/ideological reasons mostly). However after watching Yankee Doodle, and later that day Singin' in the Rain I realized that musicals despite my prejudice actually could be great films, and I pretty much decided I would go all out and see all 100. The point is I learned not to hate on a film I hadn't seen because it was a musical, or western, or featured someone I hated. 

You mentioned Jonas Mekas who's a filmmaker I'd like to see. I've only seen some of his footage of Andy Warhol, but am curious to see more, I'm certainly a fan of his somewhat eccentric criticism. Unfortunately though I probably would consider Mekas one of the supreme film snobs and his hatred of nearly anything conventional is well evident. 

I know what you mean about certain films lying around. My giant box of DVD's that I picked up last year is still almost completely full, and lord only knows how many films recorded from TV I still have to watch.