In a retrospective review, AllMusic editor John Bush recommended "The Lost Tapes" to "hip-hop fans who want to hear some great rhyming with no added features" and commented that tracks such as "Doo Rags", "No Idea's Original", and "Black Zombie" "stand up to anything Nas has recorded since the original "Illmatic"." Jesal Padania of RapReviews commented that the album "proves remarkably consistent throughout, and is a superb listening experience", and considered it a studio release, stating "this is a short sharp shock of awesome lyricism, and many, unofficially, consider this to be the closest cousin we will ever get to "Illmatic II"." "Pitchfork Media"s Ryan Dombal cited the album as one of Nas' "finest moments". About.com's Henry Adaso called it "noteworthy because of its superiority to half the stuff in Nas' catalog." In "The Rolling Stone Album Guide" (2004), Chris Ryan was less enthusiastic about the album, finding it "somewhat inconsistent, and certainly too scattered to be considered an album per se," even though it features "some classics, such as the nostalgic 'Doo Rags,' that are not to be missed." In its 2007 issue, "XXL" included "The Lost Tapes" in its list of "classic" albums to be given the publication's maximum "XXL" rating. In 2012, "Complex" included "The Lost Tapes" in their list of "25 Rap Albums From the Past Decade That Deserve Classic Status".