Bill Lamb of About.com ranked the song as the 29th best pop song of all time, expressing that "Kelly Clarkson has stated that she insisted on adding the rock feel to the recording. The result was a record that captured the prevailing sound of mainstream pop with near perfection." "NME" placed it at number 135 on its list of the "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years", writing "What should have been a slice of American schlock power-pop turned into a brilliant kiss-off, in any genre." "The A.V. Club" staff rated the song as one of their favorite gleeful breakup songs, writing "The minute that bass and drum machine start, this song is an anthem of the scorned, a call to self-actualization, and an instant hands-in-the-air dance party." "Rolling Stone" ranked "Since U Been Gone" at number 482 of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2010, whose readers listed it as the ninth-ranked single of the last decade. The AOL Radio Staff put the song at number 10 on their list of 10 Best Break Up Songs. "Since U Been Gone" has also appeared in several "Billboard" lists; in March 2013, it was ranked at number one on its list of Top 100 American Idol Hits of All Time. In April 2017, it appeared at number two of "Billboard"'s 100 greatest choruses of the 21st century and is also one of Clarkson's biggest "Billboard" Hot 100 hits.