I'll tread carefully into this thread as I'm far from an expert (or even informed) on Shakespeare, but I've often wondered if what you've stated was the case. He was undoubtedly an exceptional writer, but there's the feedback loop you mentioned.
I don't think it's too far out of left field to consider it a similar phenomenon to what happened with The Beatles and Bob Dylan. Their names have echoed to such a large extent that their popularity reinforces itself. Many artists were just as talented, but not considered as great.
Another element of it is that Shakespeare also popularized a few timeless themes before anyone else did. Hamlet. Some phenomenal lines there, but poets can't just write them over and over again. To follow the Dylan analogy, you can't just keep writing 'Blowin' in the Wind' and 'Like a Rolling Stone'.
Once we have the capacity to preserve art for posterity there's always going to be someone who did it first, and who overtakes the collective consciousness of a given culture. What could a poet or playwright write about in the 20th or 21st century that could even come close to rivalling Shakespeare's footprint? The only analogue I can think of is Cohen's Hallelujah.
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