nysmoke, I'm glad you started this topic.
I pay careful attention to technique when I'm smoking. I read a lot and ask questions on forums like this one to try to learn from experienced smokers. I will experiment with new techniques now and then, mostly ideas I pick up on forums or from cookbooks, but not on every smoke. Most of the time I try to keep it simple and I try to do it well.
For example, I cooked spare ribs in my Amerique for the first time yesterday. I decided to practice some of the advice on this forum to keep to basics. I trimmed them out St. Louis style, as usual, then I rubbed one rack with CS Rib Rub, and the other with plain salt and black pepper. I smoked them for five hours, only opening the cooker once during that time to remove the trimmings (brisket section and the skirt meat).
I did nothing else to those ribs. I did not spritz them or foil them, like I have done in the past. They were the best spare ribs I've ever cooked. The meat had a firmness that retained its form, yet it was also tender, juicy, and flavorful. It bit clean from the bone.
Those spares came from Costco. I have some in my freezer that I bought at Sams, and I'll be trying those soon.
I guess I'd say that my CS smoker and being careful about cooking technique seem the most important factors in achieving my best.
But lately I've begun to pay more attention to the meat itself. I'm trying to learn how to judge a piece of meat for quality. I'm paying attention to Smokin's comments about judging the butcher too.
I have a long way to go before I can say that my Q is great, but I sure enjoy the process of getting there.