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There isn't a whole lot that can be done about the mountains being in the way (other than moving), but the situation isn't really that bad. Even with the terrain being in the way, you will still be able to pick up lots of channels as long as you get the right antenna and pre-amp setup for your situation.
I think if you follow the suggestions being offered, you will be pretty happy with the results. With digital TV broadcasts, you can get perfect video (no ghosting, no snow) as long as you can pull in signals above a 0 dB Noise Margin and hold it there. The major broadcasts also carry a lot of HD content these days too (sometimes better than what you get with cable or satellite).
As a general rule of thumb, trying to get a net NM around +10 dB or more (after you factor in antenna gain and cable losses) gives you more reliability because there are inevitably some random variations in the real world that cause signals to go up and down somewhat throughout the day. The extra signal margin helps your tuner maintain a solid signal lock (less chance of video glitches or dropouts).
In your situation, with the antennas and pre-amps that have been recommended, you will probably be able to get most of the stations out of Atlanta (the ones with Azimuths around 270 degrees) down to about -5 dB NM on your list. The antenna gives you about +12 dB of gain and you might lose about 4 dB due to the pre-amp and cables/connectors. This will leave you with net NM numbers above 0 for most of the major stations.
I think you've got a great shot at getting at least one station from each of the major networks without difficulty.
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