I think a whole generation were dragged forward musically by the Beatles. They were so popular that when the latest album came out, people listened to it again and again until they 'got it'. The Beatles strength was that they progressed beyond the basic rock and roll songs they started writing (although there was nearly always a little twist that made them not so straightforward) by absorbing all sorts of influences.

The posters above that say others were better miss the point. For most young people in the sixties the Beatles were first.