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Is there a shortage of voice actors?

um well maybe they all sound alike? Nah just kidding. Before you make accusation look at the credits and see if the people are really the same. I doubt it.

for example two actors to alternate young male leads in shonen actioners and shojo romances; the ditzy warmhearted girl; the cool, kick-butt mentor; the crazy villain; the smokey-voiced woman; male and female specialists in elderly characters, a woman who's good at playing little kids and a woman who's great at voicing boys whose voices haven't quite changed - they're going to stick with proven entities.

The fact of the matter is, the industry has a small number of VAs that they know will be received positively by audiences. Very few cast directors will give a character to new blood if they know an old fan favorite will do it instead.
It sucks, but the industry is very hard to break into, which means a very limited amount of new faces. I've known seasoned VAs with years of experience in western animation turned down for relatively minor roles in anime; for actors with less experience, but focused exclusively on anime. Unfair? Probably, but it makes undeniable sense from a marketing perspective. Anime is a niche media, so the concern over establishing and protecting a "bottom line" is even greater than normal.

I always felt that most Japanese males sounded the same to me and Japanese females sounded the same and that English voices are much more distinguished.

But the thing bugs the heck out of me is the familiarity of the voices I am hearing now. I am the kind of person that does not like to know anything about the actors in a movie, or any behind the scenes things. I want to be as totally into the story and characters as possible; not who voices who and whatnot.