There are many stable lines still around right now. You just need to know what to look for.
Many of the crosses on the market (right now) are simple pollen chucks and not true breeding. They are looking to capitalize on one or two popular flavors of the month and make their money by duping new growers into buying their gear.
That in itself means you’re going to get many variations and all sorts of results. Couple that with the lack of testing and documentation and you’ve got the current seed market.
This is why I’ve largly stayed away from many current strains on the market except a few. I grow what I know and have loved for quite some time. My purpose in growing is vastly different from many others and therefore my journey has led me in a different direction.
You can’t trust any one breeder or brand. I’ve had varied results from even some of the best breeders from one strain to the next.
The best thing to do is keep your eyes and ears open. Don’t jump on a pack of seeds for fear of missing out (FOMO) and instead buy what you know (or think) will give good results.
Sure it’s a crapshoot no matter what but it’s much less of a crapshoot if you don’t just blindly buy genetics at random based on trends and popularity.
Check out grow diaries, google, Leafly and other sites. Read through an entire diary or two before making a decision.
Years ago I had a pretty decent seed collection. Over 60 strains from heavens stairway and cbay. Some were great, some were garbage. I grew very few of those strains. Maybe about 1/3 of them before I lost the entire collection. Most of my purchases were the result of seeing two great strains crossed with one another or trying to get the latest and greatest so I could “compete” with others on the forum who had vast genetic collections.
That was a massive waste of time and money. Sure I got some gems but I also got “got” more times than I can count.
They say a successful fishing lure just needs to catch fishermen, not fish. That’s because fishermen have wallets, and fish do not. Same applies to the seed market.
You’ll find many of the old timers don’t use whatever is latest and greatest. They use the tried and true and let the youngsters fight over the next “banjo minnow” or “the flying lure”.
Which leads me to my next point. Believe nothing you hear and only 1/2 of what you see. The reason I say this is I’ve grown out several strains that looked amazing and smoked like shit. From a bag appeal perspective they’d win every time. Colors and frostiness abound. Yet when you roll it up and smoke it, it made you regret all the time and energy you put into it. I’ve thrown away pounds of weed due to this. These strains looked amazing. But they all smoked like shit. So be careful in choosing strains by looks alone. Check out smoke reports first before plunking down your wallet and telling them to “take what you want”.