I have a list of movies that I've been meaning to get to:

Kill Bill Vol 1
The Life of Brian
Le Samourai
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Coffee and Cigarettes
Notorious
Call Northside 777
Paths of Glory
2001: A Space Odyssey
Dr Strangelove
Bridge on the River Kwai
The Third Man
Battle of Algiers
Down By Law
Short Cuts

I'm familiar with most of these. Depends on what kind of mood you're in. I'd say Short Cuts would be the most satisfying out of all those films.

Coffee & Cigarettes

Kill Bill Vol 1 - This one can't be beat if you're just looking for something fun.
The Life of Brian - Funny, but it doesn't quite measure up to MP's other films, in my opinion.
Le Samourai - Only watch this if you want to be bored out of your mind.
The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum - Haven't seen it.
Coffee and Cigarettes - A nice and entertaining movie. The Waits/Pop part makes everything worth it.
Notorious - I haven't seen this (I know, I know...).
Call Northside 777 - Haven't seen this either, but I really should pick it up. I'm liking these Fox Film Noirs.
Paths of Glory - This is essential viewing. One of the best (anti-)war films EVER.
2001: A Space Odyssey - This is quite possibly the single best movie ever made. This has priority over everything.
Dr Strangelove - Probably in the top 10 best movies ever made, and easier to digest during a casual viewing than 2001.
Bridge on the River Kwai - Essential Lean. I really can't recommend this enough.
The Third Man - I haven't seen all of this, but what I have seen was visually spectacular.
Battle of Algiers - A very raw, very hard-hitting prototype for films like Traffic and City of God. Take that for what you will.
Down By Law - One of the most purely entertaining films ever. I love it.
Short Cuts - Altman's best? Maybe. Excellent stuff. Tears the hell out of other interweaving L.A. shit like Crash.

Overall, it's hard to say. You have soooo many great films on this list. If you want something serious, 2001 really can't be more important. If you want fun, I'd go with Kill Bill, Dr. Strangelove, or Down By Law.

Le Samourai is beautiful. Very fine noir film.

I'd say Short Cuts or Down By Law. Short Cuts if you've got about 3 hours to spare, it's long.

Irony anyone?

Eh, we'll have to agree to severely disagree here. Nothing interesting happened at any point, and the film gets so tied up in dull cop-related subplots that I just wanted to start clawing at my own skin for amusement. Not to mention that the production values were on par with a cheap Italian horror movie at times.

You might like Le Cercle Rouge better.

Maybe. Le Samourai kind of put me off of Melville for quite a while, though. It will probably be a long time before I watch another one of his films.

none of the above

I'll probably go with Short Cuts. I liked the interweaving concept of Crash, plus is got Tom Waits in it.

Be sure to post your review

I would give it a 8/10. It had a solid cast, and I loved the concept. I'm guessing this was the first movie to take that many characters and show how their lives all connect. Also, it didn't feel like a 3 hour movie at all. I may go and pick up the Criterion version of this.

go with Spaceballs.

I've seen the bolded ones but still have a ways to go. I hope to see a lot of these over the next 4 days. I also have to add a few more to the list:

Rififi
Divorce Italian Style
Fists in the Pocket
A Woman Under the Influence

fuck em all and rent Commando