# Question for Smiths fans... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 15, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480 "2003-03-15T01:11:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dogchow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e495f1/32.png) [@dogchow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dogchow)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/1 "2003-03-15T01:11:44Z")
Okay…so I recently downloaded a bunch of Smiths songs and I like them alot. I’m thinking about getting some of their CDs. Which one should I start with? And which one has “Shoplifters of the World Unite?” ---
**Author:** ![hazel-rah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/73ab20/32.png) [@hazel-rah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hazel-rah)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/2 "2003-03-15T01:24:36Z")
“The Queen is Dead” is generally regarded as their best album. “Shoplifters” can be found on “Louder Than Bombs” which is the singles compilation… a very good album to start with too. Avoid “Rank” as it’s a sub-par live album. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/3 "2003-03-15T01:32:48Z")
Get _The Queen is Dead_, _Hatful of Hollow_ and _The Smiths_. The others are hit and miss. ---
**Author:** ![noddygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/47e85d/32.png) [@noddygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noddygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/4 "2003-03-15T05:06:53Z")
You can also find “Shoplifters…” on World Won’t Listen, which is another singles compilation. I think it may only be available as an import in the States, but there are some songs which are not on ---
**Author:** ![noddygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/47e85d/32.png) [@noddygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noddygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/5 "2003-03-15T05:08:05Z")
sorry for the half post. To conclude…some songs which are not on Louder than Bombs, and vice versa. ---
**Author:** ![Banger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@Banger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banger)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/6 "2003-03-15T05:54:20Z")
I would pick **The Queen is Dead**. The aforementioned **Hatful of Hollows** , **Louder than Bombs** and **The World Won’t Listen** are great, but there is something to be said about albums over singles collections. In the case of **The Queen is Dead** , it’s just a great album, even if not all songs are “hits”, whereas the singles albums don’t have quite the same cohesiveness. ---
**Author:** ![Slacker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6bbea6/32.png) [@Slacker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slacker)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/7 "2003-03-15T06:12:19Z")
It matters not - you’ll soon have them all. 😃 _Bombs_ is great, and probably a good starter album. It also contains my favorite song by the Smiths (or anyone else for that matter), _Asleep_. You really can’t go wrong on any of the albums though. Great stuff. Next start picking up the Morrissey CDs, and you’ll be all caught up. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![3trew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/13edae/32.png) [@3trew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3trew)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 7:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/8 "2003-03-15T07:29:08Z")
Louder Than Bombs was what sold me on it. ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/9 "2003-03-15T13:41:27Z")
I’d say _Hatful of Hollow_, only because that’s what converted me from someone who vaguely knew about them to actually listening to one album all the way through and realising they were something special. ---
**Author:** ![pezboy2u](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@pezboy2u](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezboy2u)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/10 "2003-03-15T16:20:06Z")
“Louder than Bombs” is a great starting point…but “The Queen is Dead” is easily their single best work. As far as Morrissey solo discs, I’d seek out either “Vauxhall and I” or “Bona Drag” ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/11 "2003-03-15T17:37:13Z")
Well, I’d recommend the two volumes of their greatest hits collection, but I don’t know if you wanted “proper” albums or not. ---
**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2003, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-smiths-fans/161480/12 "2003-03-15T17:45:10Z")
You can skip Morrissey’s solo output completely IMHO.