NME might not have quite the same influence and respect it had a few decades ago, but when they announce what they consider 'the greatest album of all time' they can still attract attention.

The latest issue of NME contains a 40-page long feature on the magazine's 500 greatest albums. Although the list is only gradually being revealed online, the website confirms that The Smiths' 1986 album The Queen is Dead has won particular favour from NME's past and current writers and topped the poll. The album - the band's third - features songs such as Bigmouth Strikes Again and The Boy With The Thorn In His Side.

In other Smiths' news, Morrissey's autobiography sold just under 35,000 UK copies in its first week of release to top the British book charts. The book has attracted controversy after it was published under Penguin's 'Classics' line, usually reserved for 'important' and 'canonical' books from literary history.