Superband consisting of Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber and that mentally challenged kid from youtube that did videos with 50 Cent and David Guetta.
I think such questions aren't suppose to be asked this way. The Beatles is a legend. So I'd say Which band/Who is the musical legend of our generation. Because there will never be another The Beatles.
While true (especially before '65, my GOD...), most contemporaries, intellectuals (especially academics who study American pop culture), and many musicians will tell you that the period known as the Sixties (as differentiated from the 1960s, the "Sixties" actually span from the mid-50s to the mid-70s) were an anomaly in terms of cultural explosion. There was a peculiar kind of energy at that time, and it came with the total upending of the nation's political, cultural, and social mores in a way previously unknown. It's really hard to conceive of how different the world was before the 60s, and we're still struggling with what our world has become since, even in 2011 (I personally believe we're fighting the same battles in America today that we were in 1967-9, but that's another story). What I'm trying to say is (and sorry for rambling ) that although you are right, the Sixties are also an unusual decade in that for all the shit that came out with the brilliance, the brilliance was of a degree, quantity and scale that our country had never before experienced, and judging from the opinions thus far presented, never will again.
IMO the Beatles were overrated. As far as your question goes however.. Such a band doesn't exist. Back then people actually had taste, but nowadays too many people listen to music based on band wagon status. I would say LP is probably one of the most popular rock bands these days, but no where near the legendary status the Beatles had.
Hey now! I meant in terms of relation and emotional appeal to fans, not by any means in terms of being revolutionary (though I would argue that AVA is getting there).
I don't think there can be another Beatles. The music industry is worlds apart now how it was in the 60's. There wasn't the internet back then. People are buying singles now instead of albums and discographies. A lot of the groups that girls are screaming over tend to be Disneyfied commercially, and most people after a certain age ignore them. I think lately there's been an explosion of different kinds of music and artists that people have access to: and a split between mass produced pop that tried to emulate the popularity the Beatles had, and "real" music. Groups that capture both audiences are few and far between. The world the Beatles lived in wasn't as diversified. They kinda had a sort of monopoly once they got a foothold in popular music. I also once recalling my father having a rant about how The Beatles weren't as universally loved in the 60's as people make them out to be. I wasn't alive then, so I just take his word. He told a story that a lot of people were reacting to their popularity like we do to Bieber today. It makes sense... Some people are just gonna get tired of hearing about the same people over and over.
I believe it (especially that second bit your father ranted about). Of course I don't think there was a divide between "popular" music and "real" music then; it's just that the popular acts all gradually shifted towards psychedelia, and what we imagine to be "real."
Past maybe their first album they don't sound a great deal like Nirvana. And that aside they're even less alike in most other ways.