Walters asserted that "Erotica" "set the blueprint for modern pop... Without Madonna, modern pop as we know it would be unimaginable." He noticed the album's influence on various artists such as Beyoncé, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj. Joe Lynch from "Billboard" wrote that the album "occupies a watershed place in the pop pantheon, setting the blueprint for singers to get raw while eschewing exploitation for decades to come." Similar thoughts were echoed by Jeni Wren Stottrup from "The Portland Mercury", who believed that ""Erotica" should be recognized as one of Madonna's greatest albums". Critics also found its influence on Janet Jackson's 1997 album "The Velvet Rope", with Daryl Easlea from BBC writing that Jackson's album "resembles "Erotica" at times, in subject manner and style."