@pluralistic These are great recommendations, and I can't wait to try them!
It's interesting how, as web search fails, word of mouth has been taking its place. In that spirit, I'd like to add that I use uBlock Origin rules to block parts of specific websites that I don't like. For example, these two custom rules will banish the New York Times Opinion section:
www.nytimes.com# #div.css-1w1paqe:has(section#large-opinion-label)
www.nytimes.com# #li[data-testid="nav-item-Opinion"]