Most ICOs today are not necessary.  Most things don't really need to be on a blockchain, a simple database will do.  Some projects are certainly worth looking at but it is difficult to do so within such a big pile of garbage.  One thing I always check thoroughly is the team involved.

You can also take assistance from websites such as icobench.com but I wouldn't give them too much credibility.

Personally after seeing so many shitcoins come out over the past year, I am more of a BTC believer now!