I got into a large argument yesterday and was wondering what do you think would have happened had the beatles not existed?

Would another band just like them have filled their place?

Or would music nowadays be hugely altered due to that?

Probably every style they play with would be played in several different bands.
Maybe we still wouldn't have left the 80's song era.

Which would have been great

We wouldn't know what we're missing out on, if anything.

I don't think the Beatles did anything so unbelievably experimental that it's something other musicians wouldn't have been able to figure out in the same time period. Hendrix did a ton of experimental stuff with recording, just to name one artist, and plenty of other groups of the time would have put us largely where we're at now as far as stylistic experimentation goes.

There would be no Beatles Rock Band.

Other artists or bands would have filled the gap, music might be a bit different, but it's not like it would be some crazy backwards music scene.

I've always enjoyed the Beatles, but have never been a huge fan. I agree with Exilement, that they were never insanely different, and they didn't ever do anything that other bands and artists couldn't. I'm sure that if they didn't exist, the hole would be filled in by any other artist/s. There were hundreds of others musicians who's style greatly affected our music today, and The Beatles were a small part of that. Of course they were a huge hit, but I don't think music today would be that dramatically altered if they never existed.

Wouldn't matter to me, I didn't like the Beatles too much. But it's impossible to know, a lot less bands would've been inspired to be great I guess.

life wouldn't suck, that's what

Elvis Presley would then be the greatest selling artist of all time. Although Michael Jackson is due to pass him up.

Most likely AFRICA. They didn't have a revolutionary style or anything so it wouldn't make much difference otherwise.

They were the first major band to really take advantage of what a recording studio could do and get it popular, to get that psychedelic sound they had,

So I'll take the opposite side and say that we may be stuck with music from a few generations back.

You have to remember all the artist's the Beatles supported and helped rise to fame during their time. Most notably The Rolling Stones. You have to consider more than just their music.

Good point Orion!

Not to mention all of the thousands of cover songs by other artists that wouldn't exist.