As a severely claustrophobic flyer I have tried my best to avoid CRJ's in recent years. (as well as E170's and E190's flown by partner carriers)

A flight on the E170 convinced me that small aircraft don't have to be bad (granted, I was in row 3 which is most likely the most appropriate place for me to fly on that aircraft)

I even flew 3 segments on ExPlus CRJs afterwards, as the E170 convinced me to try and return to smaller aircraft if necessary. I'm not going to fly the CRJ in future if I can avoid it, but the E170 is a viable option, and I will definitely try AC's E190 in future.