The fact that I have to put every word in quotes feels like getting on my knees and pleading for the search I actually want.

The fact that results are worse because the Internet is worse is certainly a talking point Google is currently pushing hard. It's nonsense of course. The Internet was absolute, abysmal garbage when Google was created, mostly filled with junk Web sites made by conmen, narcissists and high school kids. In short, it was no different from today. Google pulled up the tiny portion of value from the dredges, and it did so for years even as people kept churning out junk. The fact that they could filter through the immense pile of junk was, until recently, a key feature they marketed about themselves. What has changed recently isn't the proportion of junk on the Internet. It's how Google ranks its searches and the fact that now Google gets a large portion of its revenue selling ads on sites, sites it lists in its search results.