The gist of it is: 1. Grind finer (like, nearly espresso fine) 2. Steep for much much longer (like 10 minutes) 3. Don’t press too hard
(3) is generally applicable advice and may already improve your current results. Pressing too hard results in channeling and uneven extraction.
Of course, goes without saying, use good coffee and an appropriate grinder.
Do you use a metal mesh or paper filter?
Do you get enough pressure from your Aeropress? I've had several over the years and sometimes the plunger heads (the rubbery part going towards coffee) could be too loose as they can become weak over time.
Or your coffee is ground too coarse perhaps?
The point is you need proper pressure and a slow push. The plunger and ground size impact the pressure most IMO.
Of course, without the filter you won't get pressure at all :) And if you use the inverted method and forget the filter (like me, several times), once you flip over the Aeropress, your kitchen ends up smelling awesome.
The water temperature should not be boiling or you'll burn the coffee, possibly making it taste bad. I tend to use 94-95 degrees Celsius unless advised otherwise.
An Aeropress won't create a flavor smash like espresso, there's not enough pressure for that. But for my admittedly crude and uncultured taste buds it can basically beat a coffee machine.