The Blue Album has become one of the most highly regarded albums of the 1990s, as well as of all time, appearing on many "Best-of" lists. In 2020, "Rolling Stone" ranked the album number 294 on their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. It was previously ranked at 297 in 2003, and 299 in 2012. In 2002, the readers of "Rolling Stone" ranked the album the 21st greatest of all time. "Blender" named the Blue Album among the "500 CDs You Must Own", calling the album "Absolute geek-rock, out and proud." Non-U.S. publications have acclaimed the album as well: New Zealand's "The Movement" placed it at number 39 on a list of "The 101 Best Albums of the 90s", and Visions of Germany ranked it number 32 on a list of "The Most Important Albums of the 90s." In November 2011, the Blue Album was ranked number three on "Guitar World" magazine's top ten list of guitar albums of 1994, with Bad Religion's "Stranger than Fiction" and The Offspring's "Smash" in first and second place respectively. The album also peaked at number 25 on "Guitar World"'s "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.