I tried a "new" recipe of chocolate buttercream this weekend, that flopped! Wouldn't smooth at all...

Can you all give me your opinion of the best buttercream recipes from this site..the ones that work best for smoothness, decorations, taste...

thanks! There are so many recipes out there!!!

The best buttercream recipe I've found (and I've tried several) is the Wilton Buttercream recipe, which I believe is on the wilton website. If you can't find it, I'd be glad to give it to you. It's pretty basic, using 1/2 Cup of crisco, which helps the consistency to stand up well. I do have to watch how long I have my hand on the bag, though, as it separates with heat (of course). I haven't tried making a chocolate version of this, so I can't say as far as that goes. I have done it with different extracts, though, and it takes flavors well. Good luck!

I personally dont care for the all crisco kinds. A lot of people like the buttercream dream recipe from this site. Mine is similar and most people seem to like it.
Double batch (makes about 6 cups) :

1 cup crisco
1 cup SALTED butter
2 pounds sifted powdered sugar (if I want it stiff for roses etc, I usually add another 1/2-1 cup sugar, it seems a little soft otherwise, compared to wilton for example)
1 1/2 tsp each of vanilla and almond (or whatever suits flavor, lemon is nice in place of almond)
4 T heavy whipping cream
water, milk, cream to thin (I use water usually)

Edited to add: I use the slowest setting on the KA to mix. Dont mix too long or too fast, otherwise lots of bubbles.

Merissa, is this a crusting buttercream?

yes! The general rule is 1 cup fat to 4 cups sugar should give you a crusting buttercream.