Everybody thinks their generation of music was always the best.
I don't. So what is considered a generation in music, is usually when a person reaches their prime of discovery, that's arguably between 14 and 27. The 2000s music was technically part of 'my generation' and while some good music is there, compared to generations prior, comparing best-of to best-of, it's a huge drop off when it comes to innovation and emotion. Kind of unfair, early 90s there was a good fight against major labels in-favor of indie bands(which is why Seattle had a lot of success locally) then in the late 90s designer bands ruled the charts to counter that momentum. Internet made self-publishing better again, but thanks to locked down media players, exclusive deals curbed that just the same and big labels got their cut anyways through things like iTunes.
So no, I don't think my generation was the best or even close to it. I don't think it's possible to find the best music of a generation when everyone becomes a promoter if they do dig through piles, and I don't think the incentives are beneficial. You find your niche if you're good, and hope you have a following, otherwise pop(popular/charting, not to be confused with the bubble-gum genre) music is canned and fabricated worse than ever and nobody gives two shits. Heck, go to youtube trending every day, notice how the same handful of super-promoted artists are in the top 5 on every release, EVEN if the view count is lower than a lot of other videos that are honestly going viral. It's called payola, and that is why musicians don't compete to make crafts better, only publicists who are at an all-time high.