"The amount of posthumous Smiths-compilations may seem a bit excessive considering the group's rather concise catalog, containing just four studio albums and singles rounded up on three singles compilations. That's a lot of repetition but this double-disc deluxe edition of "The Sound of the Smiths" is the best of these posthumous overviews. The single-disc -- which is the first disc of the deluxe set -- is the hits disc, containing every cut from the 18-track 1995 compilation Singles and expanding it with five cuts all dating from the mid-'80s. As a Smiths-basics goes, it's first-rate, an introduction and summary that's compulsively listenable. The second disc splits the difference between a rarities compilation and a "more of the best" collection of album tracks, rounding up non-LP singles, B-sides and a bunch of great Smiths songs. It falls short of being the long-awaited collection of Smiths rarities, the absence of which remains a mystery, but it's the best stab at one to date." (S.T. Erlewine, Allmusic)
