There is no correct answer, only honest responses.

I posted the below personal thought on Threads and Facebook for fun over the weekend, with a little bit of an additional intro on the Facebook version making it clear this was a thought meant to spur good-natured conversation, and that there are obviously no "wrong answers." When writing the mini-post I decided to add a few additional parameters to make the query a little more interesting, since I am not a fan of posting things that elicit disagreement over creating conversation. I actively avoid writing posts meant to simply "spur engagement" and little more. I'm always more interested hearing other people's actual thoughts instead of warring responses.

In the whole Beatles v. Stones v. The Who debate, I realized I love and respect all 3, but evaluate the question based on both studio and live configurations.

The Beatles were superior in the studio, but their fame obstructed them ever becoming a great live band; the Stones were dependable in studio and onstage, but seemed overly predictable to me; while The Who developed into a group that exploded both inside and outside of the studio with impressive consistency.

So for me, it’s The Who. 🤘🙂

Overall, I was really happy with everyone who took the time to reply to my little thought with an answer, and while the vast majority of responders seemed to understand this was meant as fun, with 100% of Facebook respondents being absolutely delightful, I noticed that there were a small percentage of responders on Threads that seemed to have only read the first couple of words and the final lines, ignoring the nuance of the parameters that drove me to my personal conclusion. As a whole though, I loved scrolling through all the comments, even the ones that called me an idiot for choosing The Who as my personal favorite.*

Also, the number of people that answered "The Kinks!" made me smile. 

*It's worth noting that of course think The Beatles are the most influential of the three bands; it would be silly to argue otherwise, and I do love the vast majority of their ground-breaking catalog. But when it comes to having the strongest personal impact on me, it is The Who. And of course, when it comes to full career catalogs, it will always be David bowie for me, but he arose after being influenced by The Beatles, The Stones, and The Who.