But when not appending "reddit" what you're left with is SEO optimized websites with much lower quality content. While Reddit comments might not get you the full picture, they still seem to be worth reading in many cases

This seems entirely due to the higher mod/user ratio on Reddit compared to the rest of the web, doesn't it?

As Reddit has just discovered, user moderation is harder to monetize.

My experience is the opposite. Google’s search results are total steaming garbage. The English language doesn’t have enough words to describe just how awful the situation is. And that’s before you disable ublock and realise all their results above the fold now are ads.

The only reason I use Google is because it’s a pretty good Reddit and Wikipedia search engine. It’s the only way to find genuine commentary or feedback about Thing or Subject.

Yes, but results from more focused forum/Q&A sites like Stackoverflow and HN still sometimes show up.