I found me, one day, somewhere back last year, upset with the way things were going, people changed around me, and they seemed to be slowly forgetting the moments we spent together, likely, to be left on the past. In that especific day, I listened to this album, It wasn't the first time i listened to it, but I came out stunned, frozen from what I heard, as It described exactly what I was feeling. This album got me, emotionally like so so few can do. The Smiths speaked for me in those days, I'm glad I found this band in the right time.

Despite being a compilation it's as close to a proper album that you can get without it being one. All that really matter is that it's pretty much flawless from start to finish.

Great song after great song all in one place. Perfect if you don’t have time to listen to whole albums consecutively.

Perfect album!

No one cares if it's a compilation. It's amazing. Much of the material hadn't been released before. So I consider it the best Smiths album

Technically a compilation, but still their best album. Rourkes bass is so well mixed that it really shows how hes one of the most underrated bassists ever.

The Smiths' self-titled album was a brilliant debut hindered by dull and colorless production. It failed to capture the initial raw energy of The Smiths back when they were finding their feet in 1983.

Hatful of Hollow, on the other hand, is a perfect alternative, containing the far superior 1983 John Peel recordings and the band's excellent single output in 1984. It feels like a full coherent album, so I consider it to be one.

I typically don't like to consider compilations as proper albums and avoid putting them in my charts, but for this and Louder Than Bombs, I make an exception. Most of these tracks don't show up on any of the Smiths' studio releases, so might as well rate it as any other album.

This album is a ridiculously good collection of singles and b-sides recorded by The Smiths in the first couple years of their short existence. It is honestly my favorite Smiths album. Nearly every song is quality, with a few of the Smiths greatest songs on here. The album holds together with a remarkable unity, carried by continuously inventive guitar lines and song structures along with Morrissey's ever biting/pitiful lyrical themes carrying through.
It's incredible that a band could release a largely single/b-sides album after only one studio album, include 16 songs, and have it be a classic. If any album best shows the remarkable creative output of the Smiths in the early 80s, this is it.

Not an official album but still a fantastic collection of songs. How soon is now? is possibly The Smith's greatest single, and that's worth the price of admission alone. But hey, hand in glove, and, heaven knows I'm miserable now, what can I say? Not a real album, but still essential, and how many band's can you say that about?