Albeit not for everyone, self-hosting is the way to go. Nextcloud is where is at, even with its quirks. Also, instead of going to YT directly, I use RSS to keep up with my channels. In my case, FreshRSS for those and for everything else it applies. Watch them with Freetube.
As far as full on YT replacements? Use Rumble and Odysee as many YT content creators are creating back up channels on those platforms. The point is that YT is going to get even more stupid with the ads so it is great to options.