Theoretically Debatable

Basically, it’s 1965 and this guy drops the song ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ as a single. Most songs on the radio at this point were 2-3 minutes, this was 6. Most songs at the time were about love, this was a character study of someone who had fallen from their social standing. This song heavily influenced the Beatles next album, Rubber Soul. The Beatles had already been incredibly influenced by Dylan before this, but Rubber Soul is a completely new thing. More introspective lyrically, more mature, more topics, more experimentation. Then enter Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, who heard Rubber Soul (albeit the Capital Records track listing, which was vastly different than what we now know as Rubber Soul) and was impressed with how cohesive it was, sonically and lyrically. This inspired him to make the ‘greatest rock and roll album ‘ of all time, his results of said project was Pet Sounds. This was a landmark album, and would come to define the lush orchestral arrangements that became prevalent in new genres, like Baroque Pop and Psychedelic Rock. The Beatles heard this, and recorded Sergeant Peppers. Peppers is without a doubt the most culturally important album of the 60s, its release effectively kicked off the ‘Summer of Love’ in ‘67. It was unlike anything released by that point. The Beatles were miles ahead of any other artist at this point, and this album is often viewed as the basis of most modern popular music.

So in short, without Bob Dylan we don’t get some hella important and influential albums, music is far more lyrically boring and the experimentation of the 60s is perhaps less widespread. In other words music could not be the same.