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Yes, I'm making an argument about the quality of their music -- their popularity is beyond dispute.
1) They were immensely popular for reasons other than the quality of their music; and 2) They were immensely popular in the right generation.
These two factors explain a lot of their lasting power, imo.
But irrespective of their popularity -- their music isn't any better than a lot of other folks, their innovations don't seem particular innovative to me, and their lyrics make the Beastie Boys look like poetic genius.
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You have to judge the quality of their music against the quality of their peer's music. Who left a legacy? In the 60s it was the Beatles, the Stones, the Beach Boys, Dylan, maybe Cash. Now, you say, musically, they weren't all that great, ok, who was better than them at their time? You say, they were all but N'Sync, well I think I could name you at least 20 acts that left a bigger legacy in the 90s than them. Start with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice in Chains, go to Hip-Hop, next stop Metallica, Bon Jovi, late Guns N' Roses, over to the Backstreet Boys, and on and on, Garth Brooks, Hootie and the Blowfish, you name it, all with a lot of impact. In their time they left a big footstep, because they were freaking good. You just sound like a teenager with an iPhone in his his hand going all "oh that Alexander Graham Bell wasn't that good, he couldn't even imagine a touchscreen"