The first thing I do when I get a crit is to look at that persons gallery and decide the validity of thier remark based on the level of thier work.

i know folks that do exactly that, too, jf, but i'm not sure that it is a good indicator of the validity of their advice.  i say this because i had a friend [non-online] who i knew/know well enough to say has very little talent in terms of drawing/painting, and yet was able to give me some extremely good advice from time to time, if you see what i mean? :))

yet they create the Most Commented and Hightest Rated and the Art Charts which are still nothing more than popularity contests...and popular doesn't alway add up to good.

i agree.  i'm not interested by them either.  the thing is is that the problem lies more with how those things are used and not with those things themselves. personally, i'd love to see those things removed as well if for no other reason than to create a more relaxed environment, so to speak, and maybe a greater sense of community, but i'm not sure removing them actually addresses what i perceive to be the real problem which is how they are used since what drives them is people's behaviours/tendencies... i'm not asking you to agree, but does that make any sense?