What hath History in Store for Radiohead?

Having paid my one British Pound and fully expected to be disappointed with the new Radiohead album -- in part due to Thom York's lackluster solo effort of last year -- I am struck by how much this band refuses to suck. Ever. Although I don't claim to be as rabid a fan as many, I can say without any hint of irony that they are equivalent in ingenuity and sweetness as The Rolling Stones. Yet, as often as I hear that they are "our" Beatles, or something, I get the impression that they won't be remembered with even close to the same devotion and interest. Why is that? Is it because they aren't "mainstream" enough? Am I wrong?