Ben probably wouldn't be offended by that. He described Ben Folds Five as "punk rock for sissies". Further he said that he was always compared to Billy Joel, but hadn't heard him until he was much older, he always cited Elton John as an influence.

Feh, more music about middle class white boy pain. I like his older stuff, but producers with computers fix all his shitty tracks these days.

Seriously though, it's often fraught with peril to try to compare two artists directly, especially across time, styles, and genres. For me, I just try to weigh how much enjoyment their respective catalogs have given me, and I've enjoyed the hell out of both Ben Folds and Beach Boys records. It's all good.

WTF, it's not insulting at all.

Ben is a master writer of story-driven songs, with a very wide range and top-notch musicianship. There is definitely a similarity.

Perhaps you're not familiar with his full catalog?

Ben is eminently and deeply talented, but it's just a different aesthetic that is mostly very literal and conventional. Brian Wilson's songwriting and production technique was a one-of-a-kind imprint.

I never said Ben wasn't talented. He's very talented. I like Ben.

That said, they are leagues apart. It's like claiming Eric Clapton is as good as a guitarist in some shitty bar band.

Perhaps you're not familiar with who Brian was and what he's done.

To me Wilson and Clapton are in the same league mainly due to rather unpalatable personalities, Wilson insisting on breaking the boycott of an apartheid state and Clapton throwing racist tantrums and profiting off a tragedy in his family.

calling someone Elton John also seems like a compliment?