Well, more importantly, should I buy the books, or just borrow them at my leisure...I like to HAVE the books that I would want to read twice...

I actually just read a collection of his stories. I would suggest borrowing them from the library first to try them out. While some of his stuff was great, a lot of it was really wordy and overdone. It seemed like he often tried to create atmosphere at the expense of plot or character development. Then again, maybe that was his intention all along and I just didnt 'get it'. He also has an in-depth knowledge of the chemistry of his time, which he includes in his writing. For me, that just made some passages very confusing.

Though you should certainly read Lovecraft -- if only to recognize the myriad references to him in SF -- I'd not suggest actually buying his books until you've read them a couple times.

I've never been able to stand is overwrought style, personally, but I've still found having read him to be useful.

what Aleph said, there are also numerous writers who've continued the Cthulhu mythos, and given form and shape to several more of the Great Old Ones, after reading some Lovecraft you'll understand jokes like "I don't get it, all this piece of paper says is Hastur, hastur, hastur, hastur..."

in fact in the original Deities and Demigods (1st and 2nd printing) the great old ones are included, which isn't all that great since the AD&D rules for insanity had always been rather shaky until the Ravenloft seting came out.

Personally, I do like his writing style, it just takes some getting used to (atmosphere is everything, and Poe was one of his mentors)

Some of his stuff is good, some is dense as others have mentioned. I remember the short stories "The Outsider" and "The Rats in the Walls" really spooked me.

The Cthulu stuff was less interesting for me, but still good background reading. It also helps you understand inside jokes like the Cthulu Tee-shirts that say "My God can Eat Your God for Breakfast." :D

I can't stand Poe either :D