Are the two comparable? Thanks!

Not really. Beale Street is ALL about music and food: during the daytime it's practically vacant. Bourbon Street is much longer and has lots of shops - many on the cheesy side - and during the daytime is packed with tourists.

Agree with what Susan said and would add that Bourbon street is even less "family-oriented" than Beale. By this I mean that on Bourbon Street there will be tourists with open containers of alcohol (as this is legal in NO), there are some shows that are advertised as "live sex shows" (don't know if they are or not), etc.

On the other hand, there is more to do in NO than in Memphis.