Are you geting most influential band and recording engineer confused. If recording techniques is why you think they are the best, you should really be giving props to abbey roads studios, and Geoff Emerick etc.
Goree Carter made the first rock album. So if “who started it”, that would be him.
Who made it mainstream and stole it would probably be Elvis.
If you are talking song writing and structure, maybe you can put the Beatles into that conversation.