you seem to say that critical acclaim should trump the taste of the public - or at least is more trustworthy/credible

i dunno about that

there are plenty of cases where something is panned and then later determined to be good

likewise there are cases where "bad" music sold tons despite being hated by "experts"

assuming your premise was NOT problematic, i think it predates the rock and roll era for sure

critics do not always know what to do with new and/or different

jazz used to be considered as lowbrow for example