Thoughts on attraction

I've actually had a conversation with a couple of my friends on this subject, but I just really wanted to take a few moments and write it out on here, and if anyone actually reads this thing, hopefully get some feedback on it all. The topic is, where does a friendship cross into the realm of something more?

When I was talking to one of my friends a while ago, I mentioned to her that I really wanted the next girl I dated to be a really good friend first. My problem is that I've dated a few gals who probably wouldn't have been my friend, had it not been for the "dating" thing. Yes, I know that it's really sad, but it's the truth. So, that was my new mantra for relationships. Friends first.

However, upon talking to another of my friends, a painful realization dawned. Given this whole "friends first" philosophy, would I ever actually get to be in a relationship again? I really think that the whole philosophy sounds great on the surface, but once you get down a couple of layers, it becomes quite flawed. My problem is that I am really big on the friendships. If there is someone who I feel is really special to me and that I feel should be part of the rest of my life (not even in a relationship sense, just a person who becomes extremely important to me), I place that person on a level that is out of my dating range. Yes, I move those people into an "undatable" category. Looking at it, I feel really confused. I mean, it should be those people that I technically should date, since it is those people that I am truly close to. But I have such a high value on the level on non-relationship intimacy that I am afraid to risk it for anything more. Interesting, no?