AnotherGuy
Hero
I'd say this is close to my evaluation of interest.Let's see. I'll try to mark my history with 5e.
2012-2014 D&D Next Playtest Era
I was really excited about it. Marked a return to form and simplification of what we'd seen from the brand. Was fun trying out old adventures (converted Saltmarsh to Next, and it was great).
Rated: 7.5/10
2014-2015 Finding Its Footing
The PHB and MM were great offerings (the DMG not so much). The Phandelver Starter Set made a great introduction to the game - and I bought so many copies as gifts for family and friends. I was very excited about the game, but the "farmed out" published adventures left a little to be desired (Hoard of the Dragon Queen, Princes of the Apocalypse, etc.)
Rated: 7/10
2016-2017 Highmark of 5e Design
This era saw Curse of Strahd and Tomb of Annihilation, probably the two highest regarded adventures for this edition. Storm King's Thunder (while not a favorite of mine) is also well regarded. Volo's Guide to Monsters was also released. Xanathar's Guide to Everything gave new options for characters, suggestions for a magic item economy, and different encounter building rules.
Rated: 8.5/10 peak D&D 5e
2018-2019 Slippery Slope
Some misfire adventures (Dragon Heist, Descent into Avernus), comedy settings (Rick & Morty, Acquisitions Inc), Magic the Gathering settings - all contributed to a loss of direction for the game and a loss of interest to me.
Rated: 5.5/10
2020-2022 The End is Nigh
Re-Publishing stuff from the "good old days" of early 5e. Farming out adventures to independent designers (Radiant Citadel, Strixhaven) and 3PPs (Wildemount, Netherdeep). Tasha's tries to shake up the resuscitate the tiring system, but is a very mixed bag. The one highlight adventure of this era is called by some "a mess" - Rime of the Frost Maiden. Classic settings brought into the modern era (Spelljammer, Dragonlance) completely miss the mark.
Rated: 3/10
The fact that they marketed off ToD twice with little to no changes also irked me.
I will admit that I cannot though answer the question re quality though because I never purchased ANY of the items after the labelled Slippery Slope era. I can only attest that my interest dropped and thus any financial investment instead went to 3pp material.