I can't disagree with the ubiquitous box set phenomenon, although I'm not complaining about their decision to have a greater streaming presence. Also, no argument about Chuck Berry, after that however...
As a young boy I certainly was not lacking for music in my household, my grandmother had a love for the Ink Spots and Mills Brothers among others. Elvis was established and AM stations like CKLW were ahead of the curve in terms of Motown and pop music in general. Then one night everyone was glued to the TV.
"1-2-3-4!"
Even at eight years of age it was impossible not to be drawn to what I saw. Although too young to really realize it the drums and bass line of "I Saw Her Standing There" changed a lot of things at that moment for me. They were happy, they were cool. Pure joy. Years later, around puberty, the fact that the girls were on fire for them didn't hurt either.
You can make a case any way you want about the Beatles, but they liberated youth like never before. They did it after experiencing American Blues music in a way that we hadn't experienced the very same music. Elvis was censored, there were plenty of straight-laced taboos, and the Beatles along with the British Invasion made us see what we had been missing. It is not an overstatement to say that they indeed changed everything, including culture. Whether that's good or bad I will gladly leave to the individual, for me it was good. I'm a big fan of prog music (let the beatings commence) and for my money songs like 'Eleanor Rigby', 'A Day in the Life', and 'I Am the Walrus" were not only prog, but they fundamentally changed the way I viewed and listened to music. While I the evolution of popular music would have still occurred in some way the Beatles were the catalyst for what we have now. Some people never got the Beatles, does that make them old or wrong? Thankfully there's plenty of music out there so it's not an issue for most. More times than not the hair on the back on my neck still stands up when I hear it.
"1-2-3-4!"
And for that I am grateful.