"Can't Tell Me Nothing" appeared on year-end lists for 2007 of multiple publications. The track was voted 34th on "The Village Voice"s Pazz & Jop poll for that year with 12 mentions, tying it with 4 other songs for the position. "PopMatters" named the track the 30th best song of 2007, with Barry Lenser of the magazine praising West's performance as well as calling the track "rich and hypnotic." It was ranked as the 29th best song of the year by "Junkmedia", while "Pitchfork" listed the track as the 25th best song. "Stylus Magazine" cited it as the 13th best song of 2007. The track was ranked by "Entertainment Weekly" as the sixth best song of the year, and the staff admitted that the beat "might be [West's] most mesmerizing ever." "Consequence of Sound" named it the third best song of 2007, while the track's best achievement was being listed as the second best song of the year by laut.de.