"Billboard"s Chuck Taylor praised the song as a "stunning enterprise, a ballsy testament to [Madonna's] insistence on being a style-setter and one of the industry's most savvy—and now critically accountable—tunesmiths". He believed that both radio and the audience would be shocked with the experimentation Madonna achieved in the track. Larry Flick from the same publication described the song as "anthemic", also predicting a positive commercial reception. Ethan Brown, from "New York" magazine, stated that the song "elicits memories of past pop odes to dance culture", and praised its "giddy mix of electro-bounce, campy vocoder chants, and funky keyboard squeals". Charlotte Robisnon of "PopMatters" believed that "Music"'s appeal lay in the "freewheeling, fun spirit" nature of Madonna, which had initially made her popular. However, she also called it a "goofy Rick James rip-off". For Medium's Richard LaBeau, "this bold and aggressive electro-funk song may not be particularly lyrically inspired but it is rightfully hailed as one of her finest and most unexpected hours".