The Rascals--the Pinnacle of '60s American Pop?

C'mon now...was there really a better American pop group in the 1960s? Did anyone sing better than Felix Cavaliere or Eddie Brigati? (Any American?) Did any American group write more iconic and superlative songs? Did any group play as well individually or collectively?

(For purposes of this comparison, The Band does not count. They did everything I mentioned--singing, playing, songwriting--better. But they are by no means a pop group. I may be a little fuzzy on this, kind of like the Supreme Court Justice (Potter Stewart?) who can't define pornography but knows it when he sees it. What I "know" is pop groups write songs about girls and love.)

OK, maybe Gene Cornish was not a guitar superhero, and yes, they did have those corny outfits early on. But Dino Danelli's drumming is solid, if not superlative, and Felix Cavaliere's integration of the Hammond organ is more authentically soulful than any other group of the time (except for Garth Hudson, who is in another league).

What's more, they're from New Jersey! What's your take? Who would you put up as the best American group of the 1960s?