re: Rank these 5 bands in terms of how influential they were/are

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Most of the Byrds early success was covering Bob Dylan songs.

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Well yeah, but it was the Byrds having the success

And anyway, I actually believe The Byrds, for all their enormous importance in folk-rock, were even more important in their impact on country-rock, which they pioneered, setting the stage for the Eagles and their innumerable '70s imitators. And as I said, you can can still hear the Byrds in alt.country acts like Wilco among many others.