I'm young and idealistic. 2016 will be my first year voting and I'm not particularly looking forward to it. I agree with shibbotech, that the political machine in the US will probably not change in the next 20 years. The only person I can actually see myself voting for next year is Bernie Sanders. If he does not make it, it will come down to choosing between the lesser of two evils.
Do you live in a swing state? If not, that is if you live in a solid blue or red state, then you've got a little more choice beyond the "lesser of two evils." Your vote won't make a difference who wins, so why not voice your support for a third party? When third party candidates get a lot of votes it sends a pretty strong message to the two dominant parties, because they might get your vote next time if they change their policies. You're danging a carrot in front of their nose rather than giving it to them because you hate them less. Am I making any sense?
I wholeheartedly agree, and it sucks that more people don't adopt this attitude. My family and I live in Illinois (consistently Democrat due to Chicago), and even they consider voting third party as throwing away their vote, it's frustrating. They even voiced that opinion when I voted Libertarian in the mid-term election solely because I wanted them to overcome the shit the election committee pulls with getting on the ballot.