Portal 2 looks awesome and I'm pretty sure I am going to get it, but do I need to play portal 1 first, because I know there is a little bit of a story here. Thanks!

Chick is kidnapped.  Robot is evil.  Chick kills robot, factory blows up.  Chick gets pulled away. 

Not exactly but I highly recommend it anyway since it's quite short and it gives you a good idea on how the mechanics work as well as for story purposes. Also, it's a great game.

If you don't have anything else to do, why the hell not?

It's a good game, and plus it'll give you a control for when you load up Portal 2.

Do it for science man!

It's like, a 2 hour game, max.  Shorter depending on if you get hung up on a puzzle or not. 

Also pretty dang cheap at this point regardless of platform.  I would recommend playing it.

You just need to play Portal in general.

" You just need to play Portal in general. "

Yes you should. 

You don't need to but it's still a good game.

It would probably be good.