How crowded is Los Angeles these days?

Los Angeles is the second most populous city in the country, so it does indeed tend to get rather crowded in some areas.  Perhaps a bit less so due to Covid-19, but since restrictions are being lifted I expect that to change.

Torrance and Redondo Beach are not necessarily too bad.  Lots of good Asian restaurants in Torrance (I recommend the Shin-Sen-Gumi Izakaya off Crenshaw and 185th Street) and Redondo has the King Harbor pier (used to do trivia at Barney's Beanery before Covid-19, but now it is closed - Shrimp Lover is pretty good if you like Thai-Viet-Cajun crawfish boils, if they survived the pandemic).  I suggest finding RAT beach ("right after Torrance" or "Redondo and Torrance") and Malaga Cove for some less crowded beaches if you are into that sort of thing.  There are also tide pools in Palos Verdes off Paseo del Mar that are pretty cool.  Long Beach is probably going to be far more crowded than Torrance or Redondo.  However, I do sometimes go out to 2nd Street near Belmont Shore for restaurants, and now that outdoor dining is being allowed again, I will probably go out more.  There's a good Italian place called Domenico's that I enjoy.  That being said, Long Beach, Torrance, and Redondo Beach are very much laid back beach, foodie, and residential cities.  Other than that there is not necessarily all that much that you wouldn't find in other places.  The latter two are more places I'd want to live than necessarily visit.  As a tourist, there are other places you might find more entertaining.  I like the beaches in Orange County, particularly Crescent Beach in the Newport/Laguna Beach area if you can find it.  The area around Staples Center has got some neat places and there are museums on the Miracle Mile and near the intersection of Alameda and Temple, if you are into that.  

Crowded to the point where I can’t go down the street without it taking 30 minutes. Too many Armenians in my side of town.

There are about 10Million people in LA County.

Most people would call it crowded.

Los Angeles doesn't really have a downtown- not like cities such as New York, London, Toronto, etc. It's very spread out. Most areas are not crowded with people, but are crowded with cars. The traffic is terrible. You need a car, because the places you want to visit are very far apart. The others you mentioned are mostly residential and not very interesting to visit. The places you want to go are Venice Beach and Santa Monica. Then go south to Laguana Beach and San Diego. San Diego has a downtown, although the university area is more interesting. 

Too crowded, too expensive, too smoggy, and don't go out after dark. Torrance and Redondo Beach are a better class of area, and the bars at King Harbor area real pick up area. There's a Mexican restaurant across the street from the Liquor Barn, if it's still open, get a burrito mojado (wet style burrito) and you won't leave hungry.