Music journalist Simon Reynolds singled out The Smiths and their American contemporaries R.E.M. as "the two most important alt-rock bands of the day", commenting that they "were eighties bands only in the sense of being against the eighties".
O xornalista musical Simon Reynolds destacou a The Smiths e aos seus contemporáneos estadounidenses R.E.M. como "as dúas bandas de rock alternativo máis importantes do momento", comentando que elas "eran bandas dos 80 só no sentido de ir en contra dos 80".