Level 1: just doing it on a regular grill like a Weber kettle grill or similar.
Level 2: a pellet or electric smoker where you’re not really in control
Level 3: a small dedicated smoker where you tend the fire
Level 4: A second, complementary dedicated smoker (e.g., if you have a horizontal one for brisket and the like, maybe you buy a vertical one for hanging ribs and doing stuff like that.) It’s a new level because you’re now an obsessive who buys things you don’t strictly need but now it’s your hobby and you can tell the difference.
Level 5: A professional grade, expensive smoker, possibly welded to a trailer for tailgates or family gatherings. Alternatively, building a brick smoker in your backyard or something like that.
Level 5 (special recognition): The guy who made the filing cabinet smoker
I’ve been thinking about buying a pellet smoker because my grocery sells the pellets now but I have two smokers and my friend is a big dude — a former offensive lineman — and he loves nothing more than drinking beer and tending to a fire. He loves monitoring the temperature and soaking the wood in water to get it just right. He probably should/could smoke meat for a living and be happy forever.
I like to keep it simple and am into technology so I have wireless thermometers and love my barrel smoker where, once you learn the quirks, it’s basically set it and forget it and get perfect ribs. But I feel like I’d be taking something from a friend if I didn’t also have the 12 hours of beer and monitoring to the temp/fire part. That’s his form of meditation.