Thinking about switching to Linux

So I've only used Windows all my life and I'm thinking about switching over to Unbuntu since now Windows crap is too much for me, but I've invested so much time into Windows that I'd like to know if Linux/Ubuntu can handle regular Windows file type associations so I can carry over some of my files.

You think Windows crap is too much for you, but you'll realize that Ubuntu (and every Linux distro) gives you about the same amount of crap. It's just different crap. So really, switching to Linux isn't avoiding any crap, it's just exploring new types of crap.