Google have created a tool to make it easier to discover datasets—Google Dataset Search.
One potential downside is that it requires dataset owners to provide metadata. While the Google brand means that this might get some traction, not all dataset owners are motivated to help the cause. Publication of datasets is now mandated by some funding bodies, but that doesn’t mean that the datasets have to be discoverable. Ideally we’ll see funding bodies now mandating the addition of metadata.
While we wait for Google Dataset Search to evolve, we can still rely on curated repositories and lists such as
