A brief summary of Stanley Kubrick's Films:
Sparatcus (1960)
Nominated for 6 Academy awards, winner of 4.
96% on Rotten TomatoesLolita (1962)
4 Golden Globe award nominations
1 BAFTA award nomination
1 Academy award nomination
95% on Rotten TomatoesDr. Strangelove (1964)
99% on Rotten Tomatoes
4 Academy award nominations
7 BAFTA award nomibations (4 wins)2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
96% on Rotten Tomatoes
made more than 190 million dollars
3 Academy award nominations (1 win)A Clockwork Orange (1971)
89% on Rotten Tomatoes
Barry London (1975)
96% on Rotten Tomatoes
The Shining (1980)
Made 44 million against a budget of 19 million
92% on Rotten TomatoesFull Metal Jacket (1987)
Made 46 million
94% on Rotten TomatoesEyes Wide Shut (1999)
74% on Rotten Tomatoes
made 55 million dollars
Nominated for several awards.
Additional points:
On a personal level (since the question is also slightly subjective), I have watched The Shining and Full Metal Jacket, and they are among my favorite films ever.
Kubrick often picked very controversial and complex stories which others found too difficult to make a movie on. eg. - Lolita and Clockwork orange.
Check AFI's 100 years 100 films/thrills/..., Kubrick's films are all over these.
Now you've got to admit, there was somethingSumming it up, Kubrick was indeed very successful at his trade. His films enjoyed both critical & commercial success. His films won a lot of awards. That is why he is considered among the best (by a lot of people) about this guy.