The list is misleading, for three reasons:

a) there were several VERY adverse reviews of YATQ and a number of average ones;

b) Vauxhall did not receive a single adverse review upon release, though it may have made less 'end of year' lists;

c) Vauxhall was referred to as the masterpiece, the summit of the solo career, in many of the reviews which praised Quarry and certainly those that didn't, i.e. John Harris - wrote of "1994's brilliant Vauxhall and I".

There is a reason for this - Vauxhall and I knocks the spots off You Are The Quarry.

How are those lists compiled? The results seem almost completely random to me. I suppose it shows one of two things, how arbitrary acclaim is or how subjective taste is - or both.

And another thing - why do all singers always think that their lastest work is the best they've ever done? Morrissey said as much about YATQ. Well, I like it, but it's clearly not as good as Viva Hate or Vauxhall and I or anything at all by The Smiths. And Bowie has claimed that his latest album is the best he's ever made, too. It happens all the time. Honestly, who do they think they're kidding? It would be nice for them to say, "Well, I don't know if I can ever regain the artistic heights of the past, but I hope I still have something worhtwhile to say." Maybe, if they were more honest and humble about it, they might actually strive to make better music again. Ho hum.

The list doesnt say Quarry is a better albym than Vauxhall. It just says Quarry gained more critical acclaim than any Moz album. It's ranked 15th in the list of most acclaimed albums of 2004, whereas Vauxhall only made 21st in 1994. This doesn't mean Quarry is a better album than Vauxhall. Maybe the quality of music released in 1994 was just a lot higher than in 2004.

Is this a valid comparison anyway? Was there as many ‘Critical Acclaimers’ about in 1994 when Vauxhall was released (or even 92 for your Arse)?

Not really sure, but I am sure if I am miles off the mark someone will correct me.

Vauxhall and I really did very well as well:

Rolling Stone Album Guide, Ratings 4 Stars
Face (UK) - Albums of the Year 28
Martin C. Strong (UK) - The Great Rock Discography 6th Edition, Ratings 1-10 9
Melody Maker (UK) - All Time Top 100 Albums (2000) 91
Mojo (UK) - Albums of the Year 17
Mojo (UK) - The Mojo Collection, Third Edition (2003) No Order
Mojo (UK) - Top 50 Eccentric Albums of All Time (2003) No Order
New Musical Express (UK) - Albums of the Year 26
Paul Roland (UK) - CD Guide to Pop & Rock, Album Ratings 1-5 Stars (2001) 4 Stars
Q (UK) - 90 Albums of the 90s (1999) No Order
Q (UK) - Albums of the Year No Order
Q (UK) - In Our Lifetime: Q's 100 Best Albums 1986-94 (1995) No Order
Select (UK) - Albums of the Year 10
Select (UK) - The 100 Best Albums of the 90s (1996) 25
Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music (UK) - Album Ratings 1-5 Stars (2002) 4 Stars
Vox (UK) - Albums of the Year 4
Pop (Sweden) - Albums of the Year 4
Start! (Sweden) - The 25 Best Albums of the 90s (1996) 17
OOR (Netherlands) - Albums of the Year 32
Les Inrockuptibles (France) - Albums of the Year 9
Les Inrockuptibles (France) - The 100 Best Albums 1986-1996 (1996) 8
Rocksound (France) - Albums of the Year 11
Iguana (Spain) - Albums of the Year 9
Rock de Lux (Spain) - Albums of the Year 18
List by Asian Critics - 100 Essential Albums (1998?) No Order
Pure Pop (Mexico) - Albums of the Year 19

It's nice that You Are The Quarry is acclaimed. It's a fine album. However, I don't know why this acclaimed.net site is some kind of authority on anything. I don't know exactly how they're making their lists, but it seems to me that "You Are The Quarry" ranks so high compared to other Morrissey albums simply because there was a stronger makrting machine behind it, more media hype surrounding it, and a larger Internet to drive that hype. I'm NOT saying Quarry is hype. I'm saying it's hype that it's the best album of his career.

It's certainly Morrissey's most hyped album. Whether it's better than "Vauxhall and I" is a more subjective.

There are 9 great songs each on "Vauxhall and I" and "You Are The Quarry".

Several of the current crop of b-sides are excellent - far better than the adolescent triteness of HCAPKHIF, or the lyrical and musical mediocrity of ILY.

I'd put "Vauxhall and I" ahead of "Your Arsenal", which I'd put ahead of "You Are The Quarry".

However no single from the album YATQ made it onto Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2004! I was really hoping that the Moz community would get behind the singles & vote in the largest listener voted poll in the world!!! I am sick of hearing about all these polls he has topped in Sweden or wherever...
Anyway the number 1 song was 'Take Me Out' FF had 3 songs in the list, I think Scissor Sisters had 4

I’ve got around to listening to the album “Maladjusted” and was very pleasantly surprised, considering the generally bad press it attracted. I think it’s great, as least as good as V & I and YATQ. There are a couple of disturbingly provocative songs, like the title track, Ambitious Outsiders, and a few playful ones like Roy’s Keen, and more darkly, Satan rejected my Soul. But Trouble Loves me, I Cried, Wide to Receive etc – surely on a par with any of Moz' hits? I suppose there’s a lot in promotion and timing – and perhaps having a hunger for public reaction - which doesn’t necessarily reflect at all, as we know, on the quality of the music. At least, to employ that over-used but so usable phrase, ‘it says (some)thing to me about my life’.