How important is it to read award-winning books?

Should aspiring writers read award-winning fiction in their genre?

(Thanks to Nissa Annakindt for making me think about this intriguing question)

Here's some possible benefits:

~Blazes new territory, either in content or style
~Thought-provoking
~Challenges commonly-held perceptions
~Demonstrates high ideals (e.g. self-sacrifice)

On the other hand, here's some reasons why I sometimes have to force myself to read award-winners:

~May not offer instant gratification. In other words, they take work to read.
~Sometimes they have depressing or tragic endings.
~Older "classics" are harder to read because of older styles of writing
~May impose specific beliefs/worldviews on the reader

If you are writer aspiring to an award-winning status, you should definitely read award-winners. But what if you want to write entertaining stories? Would you be better served reading best-sellers in your genre?

Confession: I have many more best-sellers on my reading list than award-winners. I'm currently writing a young adult science fiction, and I've only read 4 Nebula or Hugo winners.

What do you think?