As another one who grew up in that era, the thing I give the most credit to the Beatles, is that they opened the door for the British Invasion, which gave us so much great music from both sides of the Atlantic.
However, I never listen to either their music or the Rolling Stones any more. But I still listen to my personal favorite, the Kinks. Lately, I have been revisiting their early pre Face To Face stuff, and I am still enjoying some their own compositions from the early days. They are like listening to all the other Brit. groups combined...
And while many of the British Invasion bands were bringing American blues back to the States, the Kinks were always decidedly British in their approach (at least after they’d gotten beyond the notion of doing covers like Louie Louie and Dancing In The Streets). And again, great lyrical songwriting in Ray’s work.