It's really hard for me to come up with anyone that can seriously contend with The Beatles. You don't have to even like them, all you have to do is listen to the music that was around before the Beatles really took off, and then listen to the music that was around after the Beatles were popular. Before, you have...crap. After, you have...(you get the gist)

I have no idea how to actually answer this question. Too many variables.

Really? Miles Davis was crap? Chuck Berry? Johnny Cash? John Coltrane? Duke Ellington? Esquivel? BB King? These people were all crap?

He's "Triumph the Insult Beatles Fan"... everyone you mentioned is good enough for him to poop on. :p:

Ja, pre-Beatles music had crap but there was also a lot of great music to go with it, just as you had so much more crap in post Beatles (and during the Beatles era) bands alongside great music. Popular music did improve somewhat, but it's really just the rise of rock that's associated with that.

My two cents on this thread's question would be The Moody Blues, since nobody was mixing rock with classical before they did back in the 60's. :wave:

Stevie Wonder, David Bowie, Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles

Missing Chuck Berry, Prince, Parliament Funkadelic.

ok funk it ill say Karlheinz Stockhausen come at me

Black Sabbath? Late 60's, hippies, flowers, Beatles etc. Most metal bands openly acknowledge the fact that Black Sabbath influenced them. Maybe not the biggest innovators but worth mentioning them imo.