Exactly, your reactions sum up the situation perfectly. That's why the next wave of cryptocurrencies to get any significant traction will have to be innovative, not just clones with a few parameters changed.
BTW: Which "inovative" alt are you pushing (if any)?
Bitcoin.

To be honest I'm not really "pushing" anything - I'm more of an observer than an active participant at this point.
There have been small innovations in the past year or two if you think about it. First coins to use different hashing algos (scrypt, then scrypt jane, and so on).. first coins to integrate proof of stake.. etc. Baby steps towards some genuine innovation.