I like the Libertines a lot. Too bad they aren't a band anymore. Babyshambles is ok but I'm not into them as much as The Libertines. There was a great interview with Pete in Blender magazine last month I think... or maybe 2 months ago. Actually, I can't remember if it was Blender or Rolling Stone now that I think about it. I read both mags religiously.
Both bands get a lot of comparisons to The Clash and their albums are produced by Mick Jones from The Clash and Big Audio Dynamite so that would be the basis for the comparisons I guess. I can hear The Clash in their music but neither band is NO WHERE near being as good as The Clash were.
While I think Pete has some major problems... he is still a talented musician and a really smart guy. His lyrics are pretty deep and contain a lot of allusions to classic literature and poetry and things of this nature. He is not a dumbass as so many would like to believe. He just makes some pretty bad decisions and has a severe drug problem. It will be sad if he dies but at the rate he is going, it wouldn't be surprising at all.