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I'll be the brave one to dissent on this one. 
First of all....asking "who is better" is a misleading question, because trance is music, which is an art, which can only be analyzed and valued subjectively. The proper question would be: Who do you LIKE better?.
And I have no problem in answering that I like Tijs, particularly during his prime, much much better. The reason being that Tiësto brought about the precise essence that made me love this genre: the epic, Dutch, melodic vibe conveyed through a "magik" journey set construction.
Don't get me wrong, I always admired and loved Oakey's output from the nineties and I even got to see him live in 1999 before any other trance superstar DJ. His EMs from the 1990s are all brilliant, and so are his mix compilations. I also don't have any doubt that Oakey is a more important figure in dance music history....but it wasn't until I heard the first Magik that I truly identified with what this genre was all about. Tiësto's set construction with Dutch melodies and rhythmic constrasts was hands down much more impressive than anything Oakey had ever done for my taste. The Magik vibe was what I was looking for and Tiësto gave it to me back in 1999. When I first saw him live at the Limelight NYC in March 2001 I truly understood the greatness of edm culture. So there, that's my personal opinion.
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