Why does most new music suck?

Act,

How many songs prior to 2000 match up to Watchtower?

OTOH, Long and Winding Road? There's a very long list of those. You taste is your taste, and my takeaway is that todays innovative music is barking up a Different tree. If you limit yourself to first degree blues derivatives, I agree that the songs will, by definition, begin to mine familiar ground.....however that was also true in the 60s and 70s.

That said, there's plenty of great post 2000 stuff already listed above that should move you. From your own list, I'd start with Todd Rundgren's cover album of Robert Johnson songs. Tho these are very old songs, they were already old songs when you loved them back in the day. Newer songs from older artists would include "Come" from Say You Will by Fleetwood Mac, "Guns are the Tongues" from Sweet Warrior by Richard Thompson, and "Spoonful" from I Feel Like Playing from Ron Wood, among many, many others. To varying degrees these will sound familiar, but as near as I can tell, this is what might work for you

On the new artist side, I'd have started with White Stripes, and we know that didnt move you much, so I'll skip that part.

Marty

Remakes and originals are two different animals.

Actusreus, the operative here is not that it sucks, but the 'why' it sucks. I think the answer does require getting out your calculator.

The "classic rock" era was a great time for white guys singing the blues and hippies singing bout peace and love.

Also a time when electronic instruments, guitars and keyboards mainly, came on board and broadened the horizons immensely from prior music.

Other than that, nothing special compared to any other period really IMHO.

Musics been mostly evolutionary rather than revolutionary since. Maybe that's part of why it does not seem as special these days.

Think about today's pop/rock music compared to 40 years ago then pop/rock music of 40 years ago compared to what was around 40 years before that. Which period saw more change?

The thing that's out there now that has potential for as big a revolution musically for average white guys down the road as classic rock/pop had back in the day is the "world music" trend. That is where things can still be shaken up in a big way for the typical US pop/rock groupie. But it will require a willingness to explore beyond the fairly easy to relate to vibe of the blues.

Actusreus, the operative here is not that it sucks, but the 'why' it sucks. I think the answer does require getting out your calculator.

I take the OP's question to be rhetorical. To me it's irrelevant why it sucks. It just does. That said, I did answer your question nonetheless. You just need to read critically.

So it's like Actusreus said then? Cuz I sure don't remember a willingness to explore being a prerequisite 40 years ago. It just happened. Ever heard of fruition? Why shouldn't everything come together and happen at the same time? It happened that way with everything else. Why not with music?