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The influence of Nirvana is in "sound" and that is it. It was co-opted by the large music industry at large to sell records to people who thought "grunge" actually meant something.
The influence of The Beatles is in songwriting, songcraft, ideas, innovation, and plain old musical skill. When you have musicians, who are hugely influential in their own right, saying they only got into music because of seeing the Beatles on Ed Sullivan, or of hearing their early singles, it shows a depth of appeal that no other act since has come close to matching. Ozzy Osborne himself, whose music would not seem to be influenced by the Beatles states repeatedly that the Beatles were his one and only inspiration to be in a band, to rock. Thank Mario for that. Brian Wilson has stated many times that the Beach Boys (who were HUGE in the early 60's) looked to each new Beatles release to show them where the future lay.
Before The Beatles cemented the idea of a ROCK BAND in the minds of the world, rock musicians were mostly single headliners with a back up band. Buddy Holly & The Crickets, Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Elvis, etc, were all sold on the singular performer (much like pop music today).
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The Beatles were also the first major act that up and quit performing live, tired of the inadequate technology to amplify their music to a stadium full of people. They focused on writing personal music, personal lyrics, and crafting entire albums of original material. I have already mentioned in another thread how this was HUGE, how most bands before the Beatles recorded mostly covers, or other people's songs, and sprinkled a few self-penned ditties on B-sides or at the tail end of albums.
The Beatles were all songwriters, even Ringo, and were all experimental in their instrument choice, with the help of Mr. Martin of course.
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