I was literally just having this discussion with a co-worker.
We're both huge Stones fans, both of us being particularly fond of the records that came out of the period between 1967 and 1977. But neither of us were able to dispute, despite our mutual distaste for Aerosmith's work by and large, that the first four Aerosmith records, especially "Toys in the Attic", were fantastic. But I think that's why the Stones will always be better. They churned out fantastic records all through the 60's, then on into the 70's, and even into the 80's. They produced consistently great albums for three solid decades, and they're still touring and playing gigs to boot, whereas Aerosmith's "solid record" run, at least as far as I'm concerned, only lasted for a few years. Their material from the 1980's is very very weak.
What it really comes down to is this:
The Rolling Stones are the greatest rock and roll band of all time because they know the nature of the beast. "Sympathy for the Devil" is really the mission statement of rock and roll.
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