It was 50 years ago today....

bdp24
Of course Paul has recognized God Only Knows as a great song and Brian Wilson as top notch friendly competition. But Brian's favorite album is Rubber Soul. Of course the Beatles loved Elvis, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry (and Little Richard, Carl Perkins, et al).
But that doesn't change the fact that Beatles songs are much more popular today than any of those artists. I am a fan of all of the above, but I can go for 6 months without listening to one song from the Beatles predecessors. I can't go 1 month without having the urge to hear an entire Beatles album.
 The Beatles were also extremely versatile (ie the wide variety of styles of they have excelled in--even in one album (White) ) in a way which none of the artists before them or after them have ever approached.
I love George Martin but he assisted the Beatles on many songs but he was far from  an arranger in the classic sense. As to musicianship, that was one area where the Beatles always beat the competition---not as the best technical players--but as musicians who had the best musicality. The Everlys are a favorite of mine as well and had great harmonies, but there musicians were not nearly as sophisticated and varied in their approach as the Beatles-- especially considering Paul's inventive and musical bass playing on many, many songs and Ringo's tremendously tasteful drumming. George wasn't half bad either. 
I'll take Lennon/McCartney harmonizing (Please Don't Wear Red Tonight, If I Fell, This Boy and many others) as the equals of the Everly Brothers--but different.
I also think Lennon's Twist and Shout voice and his voice in and around1964/65, is one of the greatest in pop history.
I will agree with you that Elvis, the Beatles and Dylan are clearly the big three.
And Richard Manuel was a great emotionally transporting singer.

When it all boils down, and when they did, no band ever rocked harder, then or since, than the Beatles.

"You’d say, you’re putting me on, but it’s no joke, it’s doing me harm,
You know I can't sleep, I can't stop my brain, you know it's three weeks,
I'm going insane, you know I'd give everything I've got, for a little piece of mind."

Fixin a hole where the rain gets in and stops my mind from wandering...

Remember as a kid watching the Ed Sullivan shows, also remember thinking just the other day how I seldom listen to them today knowing the influence they had on me growing up.

As musicians the Beatles were rather rudimentary and unremarkable.

As song writers, the Beatles were perhaps the greatest of all time. So many memorable melodies and great lyrics.

I never choose to listen to the Beatles but I heard them so much growing up that they are like nursery rhymes or church hymns - indeliably imprinted in my mind from childhood.

So what. Pop music, no more no less. Procol Harum´s debut 1967 and "Shine on Brightly" 1968 in particular with the very first true progressive rock epic music "In Held Twas in I" are serious pop/rock music, with true intelligent and psychedelic lyrics. To me, even when I still was just a kid, in 1967-68 Pepper sounded like silly children´s music. Lucy in the Sky with diamonds ... funny funny heh heh. Right.
The downfall is right there when they tried to be clever and intellectual but sounded quite corny most of the time. And Abbey is just dull, with the exception of brilliant "Something" not written by Lennon/McCarthy.

George Martin´s role in production is very important, he truly was the fifth Beatle and without him the end result would have been different. "Revolver" and "Rubber Soul" have real magic that they lost when they became "serious" musically. Innocent and very happy (pop) music, simple tunes like "Girl" are their finest hour. Of course, later they had their moments like Back in the USSR, they finest rocker. Heh, Sovjet Union. Very funny tune for us, our neighbor you see.

Lennon could only dream of songs like "A Whiter Shade of Pale" not to mention "A Salty Dog". Btw, the perfect pop music perfectly produced by class came from Sweden a few years later ... tunes like Ring Ring and SOS. And from Holland, Never Mary a Railroad Man, not to mention Venus.

In late 60´s people such as Gary Brooker & Co and Jimi Hendrix & Co created the very first attempts to serious and important rock music ... "Electric Ladyland" from 1968 is light years away from harmless pop music. Hendrix was/is a genius and way ahead of most pop musicians. These guys created new genres, new art. Symphonic Prog and Psychedelic Rock and the world was never the same.

I read somewhere that the "mighty" Beatles stopped to perform for audiences already in 1966 because they were tired of screaming fans, in the middle of Beatlemania ? Really. How stupid is that. Quite an insult to the fans. The most overrated music in history. I like their 1964-66 period, though. But never my cup of tea really.

Btw, for a pop band I´ve always preferred The Hollies because their songs were simple about love (girls) and their songwriting is very good. When pop music becomes too serious it kinda looses its magic, as a simple pop music.  
And Allan Clarke had a gorgeous voice, perfect for pop melodies. And great harmonies from Graham Nash, but that is another story.