I use adblock pro - it works most of the time. I think youtube does things with certain users to see if they can work around it, but I see little compared to what one would see without it (ABP said what I said here - that if you're seeing advertisements while using an ad blocker, it's likely google has you in a group of people that they're experimenting with, and nothing will eliminate all ads).
Realistically, a bigger problem on youtube now is that nearly all of the content is just an excuse to talk about paid content or to provide links to earn affiliate income.
There was a suggestion to look at a low cost anvil on amazon in the hand tool forum. It's a legitimate suggestion. The post provided a link to a youtube content provider showing an array of tests for the amazon anvil disgused as a helpful discussion. The reality is that videos like that appear over and over (first the intro, then the test, then how to fettle the amazon anvil, etc) so that the content provider can try to get affiliate income driving buyers to amazon to buy the anvil. That's an economic reality, but it's also an incentive for youtube to promote those types of videos more than videos that have little to no ad revenue or link-through revenue generation veiled as "Reviews".
Is that illegal? No. What's dishonest about it? It creates the illusion that the content provider was actually interested enough in the item being pushed to buy it and try it when in reality, they were just looking for something they could get other people to buy from amazon by clicking on the link in their description. Meanwhile, the world of options that doesn't gain link-through revenue is ignored, showing a biased view to "friends" who tune in to see the video. A very one-sided friendship, often including patreon begging beyond that.
