on the topic of repetitive barren planets:
different star systems have different colored stars. these different systems have different types of planets and better resources.
by default, your hyperdrive can access yellow (class G) star systems. most of the planets in these systems are barren. in addition, if you're following the Atlas waypoints, you will not deviate from these systems.
there are higher tiered star systems that can be accessed. if the star system is a higher "tier" (not to say there is an established tier list), the planets have a higher chance of being more lush with rarer resources.
the only way to access these better star systems is with a warp reactor.
on another note, i found a planet that is entirely barren and dead, but is covered in huge gold deposits. there's plenty of sac venom too. but the planet also drains your life support at double the speed. kind of annoying.