Some reviewers were more critical. "Time Out" said that "Gil Norton's toy theatre production makes a drama out of what should have been a crisis". "Spin" ran a hundred-word review of the album, including critic Joe Levy's comment "the insanity less surreal and more silly, and the songs themselves more like songs and less like adventures". "Rolling Stone", reviewing the album in July 1989, gave the album three and a half stars. "Doolittle" appeared on several end-of-year "Best Album" lists; both "Rolling Stone" and "The Village Voice" placed the album tenth, and independent music magazines "Sounds" and "Melody Maker" both ranked the album as the second-best of the year. "NME" also ranked the album highly, placing it fourth in their end-of-year list.