I would never dispute the Beatles as being true pioneers of modern music. Yeah, they had their duds, but most of their output was well crafted music.
What I admire most was that they were able to produce music that could be appreciated by a wide audience. They appealed to teeny-boppers and adults alike; it was not uncommon for a pop radio station from the mid 60's to transition from a Dean Martin song to a current Beatles hit.
Today's music (IMHO) seems to be TOO categorized. Radio stations pigeonhole certain genres, and NEVER stray from that particular format. Classic rock stations play everything that came after "Sgt Pepper", and totally ignore the pre-album rock that the Beatles made between 1962-1967. Ditto with the Stones - if it was recorded before "Let It Bleed" (excellent album!), it's considered TOO Top 40 for the classic rock playlist.
I also think it's sad that 'oldies' are now considered to be anything recorded after 1964 (Beatles/British Invasion). There's a whole decade (1954-1964) that is now completely absent from the airwaves - say what you want about some of the corniness that came out of that decade, but there were ample gems from rock's early pioneers.
Lots of great rockabilly from that time period right there. Elvis' Sun Records recordings are the best stuff he ever did.