Favorite Smiths Song – Readers Poll

It was 25 years ago today (Aug. 1) that fans of the Smiths -- already not the most cheerful lot -- got some terrible news: After just five years together, the band was breaking up. In addition to sparking 25 years of persistent Smiths reunion rumors, the split provided an opportune time to look back at the influential band's stellar catalog, an impressive collection of studio and live albums, compilations, EPs and singles that definitely has stood the test of time.

The Smiths were the kind of band that had a fiercely loyal following, and the kind of fiercely loyal following that existed on a persona level. Because of that, it's not easy to distill their career down to a handful of songs -- every fan has his/her favorites, which are often completely different than another fan's picks. When the San Francisco Weekly marked the anniversary of the split with its Top 25 Smiths Songs of All Time tally today, only two cuts in their top 1o were ever released as singles -- and that's from a band that released almost two-dozen singles and only four proper full-length albums. That said, here goes nothing: