This is probably my geriatric grumpiness speaking, but this seems subjective so I can disagree. Today's pop stars are beautiful faces with teams of highly competent, mostly invisible, professionals working behind the scenes to prop them up with music. It's much easier to take a handsome/pretty person and use technology to manufacture formulaic music around him or her, than it is to take a talented musician and make them picturesque and sellable.

It was also the case years ago, but somehow even moreso today.

I fully agree that quality outside of the mainstream / performance artists is better than ever though!