How to separate the technological wheat from the chaff

In regards to finding teaching and learning technology, my greatest challenge which I repeatedly encounter in my searches for helpful information / resources is that, there don't seem to be any ratings / quality control. 

The rating systems of amazon, iTunes, Youtube, etc. are extraordinarily helpful in finding high quality materials. However, I'm not encountering the equivalent in teaching and learning technology.

Generally, when I'm searching for something, whether it's a lesson plan for the historical context of To Kill a Mockingbird or a learning technology conference in the area or math teaching technology in general, I would like to find a short list of examples that have been deemed as high quality. I don't want to have to sift through dozens of un-qualified examples. However, I feel like I'm doing more sifting through chaff, then accessing gems which I can put to use.

Can you direct me to some resources, contacts / mentors, or give some guidance so that I can access what's considered by many to be the best (or better) stuff out there, in regards to learning and teaching technology?