Reviewing for "Entertainment Weekly" in September 2002, Craig Seymour said Nas' "gritty, yet hopeful, reflections make "Lost Tapes" a real find." "Rolling Stone" critic Jon Caramanica hailed it as "the real "Stillmatic"", writing that it "displays Nas' gifts for tightly stitched narrative and stunningly precise detail." In "The A.V. Club", Nathan Rabin deemed it a masterpiece whose assorted tracks cohere as well as any of Nas' official studio albums while reaffirming his reputation as "rap music's poet laureate of urban despair". Ken Capobianco from "The Boston Globe" said the leftover songs prove why Nas had so much promise early in his career, while "Spin"s Chris Ryan viewed the record as a hip hop version of Bob Dylan's much-bootlegged "Basement Tapes"—"a raw document still proves that Nas had "it" all along." "PopMatters" critic Marc L. Hill called it a "masterfully arranged" and "necessary addition to the collection of any hip-hop fan". In "The Village Voice", Christgau was particularly impressed by the four autobiographical songs closing the album, preferring them to other songs he felt are nothing more than outtakes. In a less enthusiastic review, Brett Berliner from "Stylus Magazine" wrote that as good as the songs were, "they don't make a real album ... [more like a superb mixtape", while "Billboard"s Rashaun Hall believed the production on some of the songs sounds outdated.