No Devolucion is my Thursday album by far. I definitely don't think they got worse over time. Personally, I'd only rank Full Collapse 4th or 5th in their discography.
For a while there, everyone was into post-rock, which lead to people who liked Brand New earlier in the week shitting on the current fans and making them feel bad about Jesse Lacey's terrible music. But, I think that was just the general chat microcosm. I only ever hung out there, so I'm not sure how much shame extended past those borders.
I listen to tracks off 1989 near constantly, but haven't listened to the whole album in a good while.