some stuff I like is popular and some stuff isn't.

Sometimes things are popular because they're good. (For instance, FMA.)

Sometimes things are popular because people are largely stupid. (For instance, Ashlee Simpson.)

Sometimes things are good but they become popular among stupid people for stupid reasons. (Just look at the current state of Get Backers fandom.)

I've just given up on taking popularity into account for judging quality at all.

I'd like to second this one. Who cares what everyone else does or does not like? What matters is if *you* like it.

I think *rings cliche bell* you have to make the decision for you and only you. Yes, there are a lot of things that people buy into simply because everybody's doing it (The DaVinci Code, Harry Potter, LoTR), but if you try them and legitimately like them (not just because you're supposed to), that's not so bad.

[Boring story alert] Circa 1999, I fell in love with a rock band. They were unsigned, and the artists were literally selling self-pressed CDs from their homes. When you emailed them, they wrote back; they even sent me the guitar tablature for my favourite song.

Seven years later, that band is a famous indie smash called Rilo Kiley. They have a major label deal, they've toured the world, and it's hip to like them because they're just shy of mainstream. I don't go a day online now without seeing some emo/indie kid listing them as a favourite band.

When this first happened, I backed off liking them for a while because I didn't want to be lumped in with "those people". Hey, they were mine first, and I have their little self-made CD to prove it (the one that now sells for hundreds of dollars on eBay)! But after a while, I missed their music, which hasn't changed much in the seven years I've known them. I'm still bitter because they aren't just "mine" anymore, but I still like them because they're still good. I distance myself from the fandoms a bit, but I haven't thrown out their CDs/t-shirts either.

You could say the same thing about Rent, etc. But as long as you like it for your own reasons, I think it's all right to keep feeling that way, even if you have to hide it in public. :-P

Sorry for the long post.

I prefer to think that the reasons things are popular aren't the same reasons things are good, but that sometimes they happen to overlap, either by chance or by directed effort.