The song was met with universal acclaim from music critics, with general praise for West's lyricism. In a highly positive review for "Slant Magazine", Eric Henderson noted "Can't Tell Me Nothing" for having the "most justifiable title" on the album and expressed the opinion that "you couldn't find a campus library cavernous enough" for annotating the song. Dan Weiss from "LAS Magazine" highlighted it as the peak of West's examination of "his character flaws every few tracks in a manner that's neither pitying nor arrogant" throughout the album, with Weiss branding the song a "secret sing-along." Dave Heaton of "PopMatters" described the song as a "powerful single," while he commented that it is the only track on "Graduation" which deals with reservations about the album's "major theme" of fame and wealth "in any substantial way." In the "Chicago Tribune", Greg Kot chronicled West's performance as "defiant, defensive, rueful, sarcastic and deadly passionate." Nathan Rabin from "The A.V. Club" called the song a "terrific hyper-soul single" that "tempers" the enthusiasm of West "with the haunting realization that for someone who's hit the top, there's nowhere to go but down, and the public's love has a tricky way of curdling into resentment." MTV writer Shaheem Reid called it "aptly titled," while complimenting West's rapping for him dropping "a myriad of one-liners."