I can imagine it seems to be the price you pay for having free email accounts, especially with Hotmail and Gmail. (Webmail)
Their usage is so huge that it becomes fairly easy for 'bots to mass-bomb for maximum coverage.
Emails linked to your service provider usually make it much harder for the bad guys to get through. (@btinternet for instance.)
I doubt this is what you want to hear, but possibly the best way to not suffer this is to have your own email & domain.
I've had my own .com for years. It's independent of my service provider, so it has to be hosted.
It costs around £50 a year though. The plus side is that their software is sophisticated enough to trap just about every piece of junk that tries to get through.
I doubt if I get more than 3 or 4 pieces of spam a year.
Not everyone with Webmail is hit with the amount you receive. You've just been very unlucky sirlearie.