Strangeways, Here We Come (1LP)

With producer Stephen Street, the Smiths created a subtly shaded and skilled album, one boasting a fuller production than before. Morrissey and Marr laboured hard over the songs, working to expand the band’s sound within their boundaries. In doing so they created the classic tracks "I Started Something I Couldn't Finish," "Girlfriend in a Coma," "Stop Me if You Think You’ve Heard This One Before," and "I Won't Share You". This, the highest charting of all their albums, easily offers a summary of the band’s considerable strengths.

Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 69 on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s", writing that "Whether or not Strangeways, Here We Come ended the Smiths' brief career with their best album has been the subject of considerable debate for nearly a quarter century, but it definitively stands as the band's most lush, richest work." The album went on to be certified Gold in both the UK and the US.