The debate over whether The Wire or The Sopranos is the greatest television drama ever made is the central argument of serious TV criticism. The Sopranos camp argues: unmatched psychological depth, the greatest single performance (Gandolfini), the show that invented prestige television. The Wire camp argues: broader sociological scope, no villains or heroes only systems, the more important artistic statement. David Simon himself said The Sopranos was great art while The Wire was sociology. Alan Sepinwall, the most influential TV critic of the prestige era, has called it the hardest question in TV criticism. Most serious critics eventually land on The Wire as the greater achievement; most general audiences land on The Sopranos.

Reference:

Wikipedia: The Wire

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Wire