You aren't the only person I've heard say that, and it's interesting. I wonder what makes the difference for people. I find that TAZ sometimes gets a little boy's clubby, a little heavy on the dick and fart humor, and although Griffin has grown into an excellent DM, I still don't get the feeling of watching a master practice his craft like I do with Matthew Mercer. One thing that helped for me with Critical Role was that I didn't start at the beginning. I did start with the first episode, but then I skipped ahead to Ep 14 and then again to Ep 17, by which time the storytelling level-up had already happened.