You're lucky if it's Led Zeppelin. They still play Whitesnake. You're right about the classic rock format. These housepainters that were working outside for a month or so would play classic rock and it could have been the same mix tape that someone recorded in the 80's. It wears you down. If you are forced to listen to it for very long you can't help but reevaluate your taste, and suddenly Aerosmith (1975 version) starts to sound really good because you're comparing it to Kansas or something.
What I meant is that The Smiths are as far from what is new and fresh as The Beatles were in 1986. We're in a musical environment where Lil Wayne and Skrillex are superstars. I personally do not listen to any new bands that play guitar-bass-drums and I'm old. I'm sick of it myself. Led Zeppelin took the genre as far as it could go. If you want blues-based rock you don't have to go further than Hendrix, The Who, etc. Everything after that copied it or was a reaction to it. Actually, I was really excited when New Order released an album of outakes, and they are fairly standard instrumentally speaking. But that whole concept of a band based on the ideal bass-drums-singer-lead guitar, like the Rolling Stones or the Yardbirds has been done, and people think electronic music sounds the same, but try listening to an Allman Brothers live record sometime. People think Stevie Ray Vaughan is a genius and all he did was imitate Handrix.
My point is that the more acceptable a band is to NME or Rolling Stone magazine, the more irrelevant they are to contemporary culture. They have become part of the establishment. They do not shock.
Personally, I love the record and think it deserves whatever it gets for what it's worth, although I think New Order is better than The Smiths, more innovative, more versatile, and I love the lyrics and the vocals, but then some would take points off there. If I had to choose one band to hear for the rest of my life it would be New Order, not The Smiths.