Decades after its release, "Born Under a Bad Sign" status continues to grow, and it is now considered one of the greatest blues albums ever made. "The Rolling Stone Jazz & Blues Album Guide" gave "Born Under a Bad Sign" a perfect score, where author David McGee described it as "a blues monument". Leland Rucker echoed McGee's remark in the "MusicHound Blues: The Essential Album Guide" book, writing "King's Stax debut "Born Under a Bad Sign" is an undisputed classic." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic highlighted the musicianship between King and the M.G.'s, and wrote: "it's astounding how strong this catalog of songs is".