At our local WordPress meetup I run a 'evaluating plugins' session about three times a year. We go through how Author, Last Updated,
Requires WordPress Version,Compatible up to and Active Installs can be key in evaluating wp.org plugin options. Being able to see this information makes it easy to ignore plugins that haven't been updated in 8 years and plugins that have low ratings. Having this information available without needing to click on a plugin makes evaluating plugins harder.

Having reviews be the primary indicator of quality is also problematic as users can give a single star because a feature they want isn't in the plugin. Having reviews being so central can lead to more people gaming their reviews by blatant self promotion and requests for friends to review the plugin, even if they have never used it.

As a local community organizer, my goal is to help casual users to level up and become 'insiders'. Teaching people how to get the most out of WordPress and make decisions that will save them frustration is a key part of that.

As NateWr said in the discussion:
The question that should be asked isn’t “what does the 80% do” but “what do we want to encourage the 80% to do”.

Active installs is something that helps users know if others have found the plugin too frustrating to use. If you combine active installs with reviews you get a quick litmus test to see if people's expectations are being bet.