"Blackout" received positive responses from music critics. On music review aggregator Metacritic the album holds a score of 61 out of 100 (indicating "generally favorable reviews") based on 24 reviews. Retrospective reviews, however, have praised the album and cited it as a strong influence over the music of the late 2000s and early 2010s. Stephen Thomas Erlewine, senior editor of AllMusic, described the album as "state-of-the-art dance-pop, a testament to skills of the producers and perhaps even Britney being somehow cognizant enough to realize she should hire the best, even if she's not at her best." Dennis Lim of "Blender" deemed it as "her most consistent , a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop." Margeaux Watson of "Entertainment Weekly" commented that while the album is not poetry, "there is something delightfully escapist about "Blackout", a perfectly serviceable dance album abundant in the kind of bouncy electro elements that buttressed her hottest hits. Xtina could never!!" A reviewer for "NME" said that the heavily treated vocals make Spears sound robotic, adding that "it could really do with a few more human touches."