Before Ubuntu existed, most distros aimed at newcomers shipped with KDE as the default. I'm not sure why Ubuntu went with GNOME as the default, but since Ubuntu came out, everything shifted to GNOME.
GNOME is definitely not going for a single UI that will please everyone. They're going for a UI that you WILL use THEIR way, or else. And they WILL break any extensions you use within the next release or two. Which is an odd design philosophy for a desktop for an OS aimed at people who like to tweak.
Yeah, we're definitely going backwards. Americans blame the unions and worship the billionaires and politicians that are making everything worse.