Never thought I'd like the AR as I never cared for the 5.56/.223 round and I have always liked .30 caliber rounds better as in my old Garand etc...
But since I've started reloading 5.56/.223 and playing around with building my own, I'm hooked. There are so many options. I'm going to put the JP-VTAC free float handguard on my 18" build soon and pull the 20" 22lr. barrel off the A2 receiver and put it on a flat top receiver and use the A2 for another build, probably a dissipator style 16" barrel version. Later I'm leaning towards a complete MGI Hydra setup with different barrels, bolts and magwells to have one AR for different calibers.
I hear that Remington is working on a AR style rifle and if ever Ruger does, I'll buy it too. You can never have too many firearms. With AR's, stick with quality parts and you can't go wrong. I prefer barrels made with 4150 steel and only a few make them like Colt, Bushmaster, CMMG, LMT, and a few others. Most others use 4140 steel which is still good but not what I prefer if I can help it. It's the same with other parts like the Bolt and Carrier groups, get quality parts and that helps avoid any problems down the road. Buy cheap parts and you get what you pay for.
Robert