I'm a Mosin guy and don't really care for AKs. The higher quality ones like the MAK-90s are fun, but the Centurys?
. I like the SKSes a lot more than the AKs, and they feel very Mosin-ey as well. Put one side by side with an M44 and you'll see what I'm saying.
As far as a Mosin being a must have? Ehhhh.... for the high 3 bills they're currently going for, there's a lot of good Mausers I'd rather have instead. Being cheap's half the fun with a Mosin - when you shoot a pie plate sized group at 100 yards with a $100 rifle and a $3 box of ammo, it's like "haha, commie rifle go BOOOOM!" But when the rifle and the ammo prices both go up fourfold, there starts to be expectations.