When you pay attention to the timeframe the Beatles had their main success it's pretty much justified. They followed Rock'n'Roll on the heels and made guitar music available to a vast audience. With their development as a band, they also began to use more obscure elements to their music, which were still accepted by the masses.
I always thought of the term "overrated" as something a pimplier sixteen yearold pubertarian would use. As he just hasn't been available to recognise what the artist actually did in history, as he is still focussed on the now, the present.
Nontheless I find it a bit weird, how the Beatles are one of the most well known bands - of course they wrote excellent popsongs as well - but other pioneers such as The Velvet Underground, CAN or Neu! aren't nearly as much present to the masses out there. Sure there music isn't comparable to the pop the Beatles created, but they still deserve some recognition. And especially Neu! Offspring Michael Rother created really noticable melodious music, though little know of it.
So I would say that in comparison to other revolutionary musicians the Beatles are not overrated, but a bit too much ahead, if combined with the aspect of what they did for music.
Though the Beatles were Nazis
