I am who many of you are talking about. I started my journey down the rabbit hole earlier this year. No experience at web development. Solid background in tech at lower levels (sys admin/support/training).

I'm still trying to figure out what makes one theme better than another. Plug-ins I get. Theme's, not so. I started with WP's 2019. Tried 3 or 4 others off of the Featured or Popular list. Ended up using an Astra 'free' theme. It's fine for my purposes and has allowed me to get better acquainted with what a theme is. I'm coming to the conclusion that what they offer I can do on my own. It will take effort but I won't have fluff to deal with. Perhaps after I go through that process I will develop a better appreciation for other peoples themes.

I absolutely agree with the sentiment being advanced that multiple search and filter capabilities would be far better than the current state. I can only presume that the decision makers have decided that the end user is not smart enough or creative enough to find what they are looking for 'on their own'. It's like a take on the 80/20 rule. 20% of end users will never figure out how to find a useful theme so we need to cater to their needs.

Out for now, thanks for listening.