I don't know who I would impress by buying something 'arty' that I don't like - that would presume 1) I've got people pawing through my record collection that I want to impress and 2) they've got the musical breadth of knowledge to appreciate the 'artiness' of whatever it is I'm trying to impress them with.
Much more common is having people wonder why the hell I've got Carmen Miranda or Elton Britt records and thinking I'm a frickin' weirdo because of it.
I will say this - I have bought records that are supposedly essential and then struggled to find a way in with them, but I do tend to keep those records because I know that they may take more than a few listens to really 'get' them. I remember the first few times I heard 'The Modern Dance' by Pere Ubu, I just didn't get it, then one day I had a hangover and put that record on and it suddenly made perfect sense. I have been a huge Ubu fan ever since. I can think of several instances like that.
Maybe those arty records that you have but you don't like are just waiting for the right moment to latch on to your brain. Everything happens for a reason.
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