How did you discover music pre-streaming? Either go back to that, or use something like Last.fm which is far superior for music discovery and also gives you listening stats. In addition, there are plenty of YouTubers who love talking about music and reviewing albums. I've discovered far more artists through them than Spotify. Curation will always be better than algorithms, which is why some people prefer Apple music more.
As far as drawbacks are concerned:
- Requires some technical know-all
- Maintaining your services - though this is fairly minimal
- UI not as polished as Apple or Spotify
- Takes time to import your media
Obviously, its not for everyone and streaming services aren't going anywhere soon. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder.