There were no Monkees, they were the figment of the imagination of modern TV. They could hardly play their instruments at all. Boyce and Hart wrote the tunes and studio musicians (probably the Wrecking Crew) played the instruments. They had absolutely no history together than meeting each other before they began filming. How anyone can mention them in the same breath with the Beatles or the DC5.
While I'm sure the guys were good people, fine entertainers and could actually sing a little, they weren't a real band.
Your knowledge of the Monkees is clearly limited—yeah, they began as a fictitious band, but they became a real one, as demonstrated (in part) by the 11 records they produced over the years after the TV show was cancelled, and the numerous world tours they conducted. Peter Tork, who just died, was already proficient on guitar, bass, banjo, piano, and keyboards when the Monkees started, Mike Nesmith played guitar and already had begun a recording career, Davy Jones had also already begun a recording career and starred in
Oliver! on Broadway, and Micky Dolenz was a child actor who, upon joining the Monkees, learned the drums because they needed a drummer, and he's one of the best pop-rock vocalists ever.
And in my opinion, the Beatles are overrated.