I don't get some of the Beatles hate, especially from those that truly appreciate music. I get some of the arguments why people don't like them, though I don't agree. "They are overrated", "they are just pop music", "some of their stuff all sounds the same", "they are just not my style". Those are all opinions and I respect other's opinions but any true connoisseur and student of music, how its made, and its history comes to respect the Beatles. They undeniably have an enormous influence on music, arguably more than any other band. They pioneered in many of the things they did, down to even how they recorded.
The Beatles were one of the first bands to really spend hours and hours in recording sessions fine tuning everything and experimenting. Even basic stuff like a fade in, in a song and overdubbing guitar/vocals were things that were rarely used that they popularized. They were also one of the first groups to experiment with vocal distortion and guitar feedback, two techniques that were used extensively by the harder rock groups that came after them (such as Cream and Emerson Lake & Palmer). They also were the first group to "close milk" the strings (play the instrument close to the microphone) which is commonplace now but was revolutionary then.
Until I did research on them, i didn't know they pioneered artificial double tracking (ADT) and flanging. ADT is when you hear the same person singing (or playing) multiple "tracks" like in "Bohemian Rhapsody". Flanging is similar, but there is a slight delay (and is more used for instruments). "Tomorrow Never Knows" is a good example of how The Beatles innovations and features vocal distortion, experimentation, and flanging.
The Beatles were the first "pop" group to be taken seriously for their music. Elvis was regarded by many in mainstream music as a "pop phenomenom". The Beatles became so much more than that. The fact is, the chord and tempo changes you find in their music were never found in Elvis and still are not often found in pop music today. Without The Beatles, there would be no Dream Theater and their insane chord/tempo changes in "Dance of Eternity". Their lyrics may be simple, but give them credit that they wrote them. Elvis didn't write his lyrics, most bands before The Beatles didn't and artist such as Katy Perry still don't. The lyrics may seem dated in a time where we have emo and death metal, but their songs correlated with the cheer of the hippie movement.
Their later years were one of the most experimental periods of any band in history. They experimented with some of the first uses of Prog Rock, Hard Rock, Psychadelic Rock, and even proto-metal. To those who think The Beatles are "too pop" or "too soft" let me direct you to "Helter Skelter". While the The White Album was a "helter skelter" of experimental pieces, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was focused and unified. Albums up until then were an non-unified collection of songs. "Sgt. Pepper's" was the first album with a unified theme and vision in the music. That unification set the stage for the great concept albums. Without it, there is no The Wall or Quadrophenia.
Without The Beatles, it may have been years later that songwriter-based groups like CSNY and Bob Dylan became popular. Their influence can't always be seen, but its there. Chances are, one of your favorite bands was influenced by The Beatles which means that even if you don't like their music, they have influenced your listening of the music you enjoy. Don't take it from me look at all the artists who have covered them. It just shows how many big bands felt the influenced enough to pay tribute to them.
There will always be experimental bands and there will always be popular bands but rarely will they mix. They did with Pink Floyd and Zeppelin, and even The Who, but none were as popular and few were as experimental in their innovation as The Beatles.
(None of this applies of you are a hipster...Then of course The Beatles suck, they are mainstream)
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