I think it really depends where you want to go to school. GPA definitely does matter.
Out here in California, the average GPA for accepted students to our middle-of-the road UC schools (not Berkeley) is 4.20 on a 4.00 scale. That is very high. Out here, it is super competitive to get into a good college. You need grades, high test scores, and activities. It really depends on what schools you are talking about- Ivy league schools, for example, etc. are only accepting perhaps 10% of the applicants.
