I'm not sure anyone objects to curating, per se, more the fact that Apple isn't transparent, fair, or consistent about what causes an app to be rejected.
selection bias. we of course inevitably hear about the cases where Apple is not fair or acts inconsistently. but we do not hear about the vast majority of cases where they either allow apps in the store immediately or work through the issues with the developer so the app is compliant with the rules.
If Best Buy doesn't want to sell my PC software, I can sell it through other channels.
If Apple doesn't want to sell my iOS software, I can't.
Android lets you sell stuff outside of the play store - look how well the Humble Android bundles do.