No, I really hate missing out on the references usually included in sequels. Even though a lot of sequels give you a quick overview of the events of the previous game (i.e. Modern Warfare 2's introduction), I like to have the complete experience.
On second thought, I did buy Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies, Gran Turismo 3, and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 (all a long time ago for the PS2), but those games don't have continuous storylines.