You’re talking influence, not character. I honestly and sincerely believe, from all I’ve read and all the music I’ve listened to and researched, that R.E.M. (not Stipe individually) was leaps and bounds more influential than the Smiths ever were, if you count other bands, genres, songs, lyricists that can be traced back directly to them. Just to name a particular thread I’ve been defending forever: R.E.M. helped create and then influenced the whole indie scenario of the '80s that would later create the Pixies; grunge exploded because of Cobain’s love for both the Pixies and R.E.M.; that made the whole '90s indie scene happen afterward (and bury hair metal), including the popularity of pop-punk in the US and Britpop everywhere. I can’t trace the Smiths influencing Britpop all that decisively in terms of its general acceptance, even though they were a clear influence in style.
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