A few notes...

A crockpot with a pile of sauce won't come close to the flavor of wood-coals barbecue, but it's an approximation if that's what you are after.

In terms of barbecue cuts, they go in order of desirability from whole hog, whole shoulder clod (butt and shoulder), butt, shoulder. I like the shoulder more if you are cooking direct versus the butt (which is better indirect, because there is no skin), but the whole shoulder clod is hard to beat for most home cooks.

If you must sauce, avoid sauce with liquid smoke like the damn plague. It's one of the most offensive tasting things on the planet.

For any style of braising, you have to remove some of the fat cap from the butt. Otherwise, there will be way, way too much fat in your braising liquid and it will not taste very nice.

Barbecue is one of the most rewarding cuisines a home cook can undertake, IMO, because of the magical flavor and the very basic techniques required (which are nearly impossible to master) to create a delicious product.

Cheers,

-Andrew