Lennon vs. McCartney?

It's easy to pick Lennon. He always got credit for writing the more artistic, cooler rock songs, And deservedly so. But McCartney improved pop music in profound ways, and he opened the floodgates for so many bands that followed and made dramatic impacts on the development of popular music. In the beginning, they worked closely together and had great influence on each other. They each helped lay the groundwork for the other's future development. You couldn't have one without the other. Of course you can select one as your favorite over the other, but it's also worth taking the bigger perspective and realizing that these two artists had a dramatic, long-term, positive impact on music for generations.