Well it's time for me to chime in on this question. I grew up in the time of Beatlemania,I remember sitting in my elementary auditrium on a rainy day eating in doors when "I Want to Hold Your Hand" came on the radio and every kid in there was singing the song including myself. I remember walking home from school and seeing all the Beatle swag everywhere,I remember playing beatle fourty fives on my parents stereo,I remember the Ed Sullivan show etc. etc. As much as I loved the Beatles They were played relentlessly on the Radio every day and they were so universal that even Adults liked their music. Remember how everyone was burned out on Stairway to Heaven or My Sweet Lord or Lucky Man because it was played every hour on the hour? That's the way I am with the Beatles. Every song was played on the radio AM or FM and their albums held no surprises some obscure nugget that you as a listener could say yeah i don't remember this song,yeah this is good until the White Album. I rarely play the Beatles because I know all the songs they are burned into my subcouncis.
The Stones are different. I listen to the Stone 3 or 4 times a month,because they didn't get the exposure the Beatles did, there are songs on there albums that I discovered,that I didn't have to share with everyone like "Continential Drift" off of Steel Wheels or "Sweet Virginia" off of Exile on Main Street or "Ain't no use in Crying" off of Tatoo You.
So if I had to listen to one only it would be The Rolling Stone but I know that if The beatles had not existed then the media would have done to The Stones what they did to The Beatles, over expose them to an entire generation leaving them no mystery .
