Sorry for my somewhat flip first response, but "modern music" does mean something, and it ain't mainstream rock-n-roll. The Beatles were, in Sir Paul's words, "a great little band," but their artistic innovations were definitely at the margins. I'd give more credit to the generation that preceded them--the 50s artists who walked the distance from blues to pop. And Dylan, who in his own way expanded the boundaries of popular music.
As for Sgt. Pepper, it was indeed hugely influential in its time, though not necessarily for the better. (Think prog--and apologies to its surviving fans.) By 1980, however, the punk-New Wave axis was looking back to the Velvet Underground (Eno's famous quote: Almost nobody bought their albums, but everyone who did formed a band) and blues-rock innovators like Hendrix and the Yardbirds. In the 80s, people who thought Sgt. Pepper was the Beatles' best album were decidedly unhip.
The Beatles are probably more influential today than they were 20 years ago, but more credit probably goes to albums like Rubber Soul and Revolver than to their Mannerist period.
As for Sgt. Pepper, it was indeed hugely influential in its time, though not necessarily for the better. (Think prog--and apologies to its surviving fans.) By 1980, however, the punk-New Wave axis was looking back to the Velvet Underground (Eno's famous quote: Almost nobody bought their albums, but everyone who did formed a band) and blues-rock innovators like Hendrix and the Yardbirds. In the 80s, people who thought Sgt. Pepper was the Beatles' best album were decidedly unhip.
The Beatles are probably more influential today than they were 20 years ago, but more credit probably goes to albums like Rubber Soul and Revolver than to their Mannerist period.