Exactly, anything that has survived 100 or 1000 years is most likely worth your time
One has to wonder though if something has survived as an artifact only because there were a zillion copies of the then "Steven King's" latest, or if it truly was great and preserved with care by those with taste.
You have to wonder if the then Siskel and Ebert gave it two thumbs down compared to other contemporary works.
But of course, that doesn't preclude the fact that there may have been much better works that didn't make it to us.
Popularity seems almost arbitrary with elements of promotion (ads, influencers, celebrities, etc.), timeliness, and virality.