The Beach Boys - America's Band?

Upon learning about how The Beach Boys ripped off Chuck Berry, I kind of wrote them off from being a respectable band. However, after discovering that their later album Pet Sounds was the main influence behind The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, I began to reconsider. Upon doing a little research, I realized that several music magazines have rated both of these albums among the greatest ever created. I also noticed that The Beach Boys are commonly cited as being "America's band." Do you think they deserve this title? Does their later, highly acclaimed material overshadow the musical plagiarism of their earlier days? Do you think that by dubbing The Beach Boys "America's band, " it makes it seem as if coping another artist's work is acceptable?