I have a Flickr account but don't have anything on there as I don't really like the layout/presentation of the site.
Have you tried one of the alternative interfaces? The reason I use Fluidr is because the Flickr interface is rubbish. For browsing, there are much much better overlays for Flickr.
I actually made the decision and purchased a pro account with Flickr for something like $25 per year. Reason, it gives me an almost "infinite" space for uploading all my photos in the event of the unfortunate happening (laptop, hard drive, hard copies being lost).
I'm getting used it and can see the positives from using it.