The Smiths, in 1982–1987, were Mike Joyce (drums), Steven Patrick Morrissey (vocals, piano), Johnny Marr (guitars, keyboards), and Andy Rourke (bass). My favorite Smiths songs—Oh almost all of them!—include "How Soon Is Now?," "The Boy with the Thorn in His Side," "Bigmouth Strikes Again," "Ask," "Panic," "Back to the Old House," and "Girlfriend in a Coma," plus the songs I mentioned above. I have most of their albums.

Due to musical differences especially between the chief members, Morrissey and Marr, The Smiths eventually disbanded in 1987. However, the music from each of them lingers on to this day as Morrissey, since the breakup, continues to perform and record as a solo artist; while Marr began forming in 2000 his own band, Johnny Marr & the Healers—add to that Marr's previous worthy collaborations with artists like Matt Johnson in The The and New Order's Bernard Sumner, Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, and Kraftwerk's Karl Bartos as Electronic.

Morrissey's latest album is You Are the Quarry, released in 2004. Johnny Marr & the Healers, on the other hand, released their debut album, Boomslang, in 2003, while the second is in tow. Unfortunately, I find Marr's previous collaborative works more appealing than those from his current band.

My Recommended Essentials
Morrissey:
from Viva Hate, 1988:
---"Every Day Is like Sunday"
---"Suedehead"
---"Hairdresser on Fire"
---"I Don't Mind if You Forget Me"
from Bona Drag, 1990:
---"November Spawned a Monster"
---"The Last of the Famous International Playboys"
from Your Arsenal, 1992:
---"We Hate It When Our Friends Become Successful"
from Vauxhall and I, 1994:
---"The More You Ignore Me, the Closer I Get"
from You Are the Quarry, 2004:
---"Irish Blood, English Heart"
---"The First of the Gang to Die"
---"America Is Not the World"

The The:
---"This Is the Day" and "Uncertain Smile" (Soul Mining, 1983)
---"The Beat(en) Generation" (Mind Bomb, 1989)

Pet Shop Boys:
from Please, 1985:
---"West End Girls"
---"Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)"
---"Love Comes Quickly"
---"Suburbia"
from Actually, 1987:
---"What Have I Done to Deserve This?"
---"Rent"
---"It's a Sin"
from Very, 1993:
---"Go West" (cover from Village People)
from Release, 2002:
---"Home and Dry"

Kraftwerk:
from The Man Machine, 1978:
---"The Model" (German release, "Das Modell")
from Electric Cafe, 1986:
---"The Telephone Call" (German release, "Der Telefon Anruf")

Electronic:
from Electronic, 1991:
---"Getting Away with It"
from Raise the Pressure, 1996:
---"Forbidden City"
---"For You"
---"Out of My League"
from Twisted Tenderness, 1999:
---"Vivid"

I'll be writing a separate blog entry for New Order.