I've been attending a small monthly one that's usually pretty good. I don't want to say too much about it because I don't think they'd appreciate the attention, but I'll say that it's broadly oriented toward the free software movement.

I've never been a big meetup guy, so I probably don't have much useful insight into the "current state" of tech meetups, except that when I go look for them, the vast majority don't align with my interests. I'm guessing you may feel similarly, from the tone of your question. However, I'll point out that if you can't find the meetup you want, you can always try to start it yourself!