Module - number of download + user rating ?

Hello folks !
I'm totally newbie to Drupal (not in CMS: joomla, Microsoft and PHP), and I'm very impress by the modularity and customisation of Drupal.

But as a newbie ... I'm a little confuse with the great number of different module.
I understand that each module respond to one need ... but it would be great if we can:
- see the number of download of each module
- and perhaps a "user rating" each module

This will help the new comer to understand which module is "essential" and which module is more a "niche" module

Regards,
Nicolas.
PS: I'm currently developping a large community site in quebec (many contributor, newsletter ...). I haven't url and work to show now .... I had experienced with joomla, but for this kind of site, Drupal will be ideal, perhaps I will be totally converted to Drupal...