Were songs, recorded in studio "stereo", just a fad?

When stereo music first came out, it was an expected thrill to hear what the studio engineers promised us. Certain instruments to be heard from the left speaker and others in the right. Did the engineers ever get it right? I have yet to hear a stereo recording, without headphones, that thrilled me as promised way back when. Today, most studio recording are back to the old reliable manaural recording, where all sounds come from both speakers.
Question: am I incorrect in my opinion of studio recordings in stereo just being a fad, or was it just my bad hearing?