It is worth pointing out that the highly compressed sound of recent pop and dance tracks is only 'worse' to people who have educated their ears to expect something different. The context is important too.
A couple of years ago I gave an old friend a copy of the recording of my song "Doormat", as a bonus birthday present. I have always considered it a throwaway , near-pop song. Accordingly it was heavily compressed and maximised at the final stage.
My friend insisted on having the DJ play it at the party. It came between a Madonna track and Amy Winehouse.
It stood up reasonably well- certainly nothing to be ashamed of, but I sat there thinking "I should have compressed it more." In context it lacked the raw power of the commercial pop stuff. In sum, less compression sounded worse.
Personally, for the vast majority of the music I do, I feel that every sound processor, (analogue or digital, dynamic, pitch correction or reverb) should have a control labelled "Good Taste" or even "Class". You would be able to turn it up or down in the awareness of what you are doing to the final sound.
Cheers
Dave