The Smiths were always a bit of a take-it-or-leave-it proposition well before Morrissey turned into an unrepentant nutcase, but if you're down with what the short-lived Manchester quartet was up to during its heady five-year run during the mid-1980s The Queen Is Dead is the album to beat. 

The band simply got it right here. Drolly self-loathing frontman and lyricist Steven Patrick Morrissey was never sharper nor funnier. Johnny Marr's guitar work never danced and sparkled as brightly. And the underrated rhythm section of drummer Mike Joyce and late bassist Andy Rourke was never more nimble and weightless. Almost universally acclaimed upon delivery in June of 1986, The Queen Is Dead was nevertheless more of a cult commodity than a runaway hit at the time of its release -- indeed, the Smiths themselves never exactly rose to Oasis-level prominence -- but like many too-good-for-their-own-good records before it, from The Velvet Underground & Nico to Never Mind The Bollocks, Here's The Sex Pistols to Murmur, its reach and reputation have consistently grown with time. It's now a must-have for any serious student of Brit-pop, or intelligent popcraft in general. 

TRACKLISTING:

1. The Queen Is Dead
2. Frankly, Mr. Shankly
3. I Know It's Over
4. Never Had No One Ever
5. Cemetry Gates
6. Bigmouth Strikes Again
7. The Boy With The Thorn In His Side
8. Vicar In A Tutu
9. There Is A Light That Never Goes Out
10. Some Girls Are Bigger Than Others