"CPAN should be a popularity contest."

No it should not be. In fact, most programmers choose this line of work because they want to get away from such MARKETING ploys. Personally, i think CPAN is just fine the way it is. It is not broken. If you have a hard time finding modules then maybe you need to address that problem within yourself, because i have found that finding modules is not hard. Asking questions at forums like this is not hard. Knowing where to go to find the answers is the margin between a great programmer and one who merely found themselves in this line of work. Increase your education. Don't turn everything into a competition.

L-LL-L--L-LL-L--L-LL-L--
-R--R-RR-R--R-RR-R--R-RR
B--B--B--B--B--B--B--B--
H---H---H---H---H---H---
(the triplet paradiddle with high-hat)