Editing OK Computer (section)

===Retrospective appraisal===
{{Album ratings
 | title = Retrospective reviews (after 1997)
 | rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
 | rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/ok-computer-mw0000024289|title=OK Computer – Radiohead|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=8 July 2015|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121081725/https://www.allmusic.com/album/ok-computer-mw0000024289|archive-date=21 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>
 | rev2 = ''[[The A.V. Club]]''
 | rev2Score = A<ref name="AVClub retrospective"/>
 | rev3 = ''[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]''
 | rev3Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.blender.com/guide/new/50809/ok-computer.html|title=Radiohead: OK Computer|magazine=[[Blender (magazine)|Blender]]|access-date=6 April 2020|last=Slaughter|first=James|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090927055342/http://www.blender.com/guide/new/50809/ok-computer.html|archive-date=27 September 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>
 | rev4 = ''[[Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s|Christgau's Consumer Guide]]''
 | rev4Score = B−<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|year=2000|title=[[Christgau's Consumer Guide: Albums of the '90s]]|publisher=[[St. Martin's Griffin]]|isbn=0312245602|chapter=R|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=R&bk=90|access-date=11 June 2020|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
 | rev5 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
 | rev5Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Radiohead|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|edition=5th concise|year=2011|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
 | rev6 = ''[[MusicHound]] Rock''
 | rev6Score = 5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Gary|editor-last=Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|title=[[MusicHound]] Rock: The Essential Album Guide|publisher=Schirmer Trade Books|year=1998|edition=2nd|isbn=0825672562|chapter=Radiohead}}</ref>
 | rev7 = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
 | rev7Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Radiohead: OK Computer|magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]]|issue=393|date=January 2019|page=104}}</ref>
 | rev8 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
 | rev8Score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{Sfn|Sheffield|2004|p=671}}
 | rev9 = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
 | rev9Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Slant review"/>
 | rev10 = ''[[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull – on the Web]]''
 | rev10Score = B+<ref name="Hull">{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=15 April 2007|url=http://tomhull.com/ocston/notebook/0704.php|title=April 2007 Notebook|website=Tom Hull – on the Web|access-date=8 July 2020}}</ref>
}}

''OK Computer'' has frequently appeared in professional lists of the greatest albums of all time. A number of publications, including ''NME'', ''Melody Maker'', ''[[Alternative Press (music magazine)|Alternative Press]]'',{{sfn|Footman|2007|p=185}} ''Spin'',<ref name="RJ Smith Spin">{{citation
 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bGjsvmNt8UgC&pg=PA123
 | title = 09: Radiohead: ''OK Computer''
 | last = Smith
 | first = RJ
 | magazine = [[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]
 | date = September 1999}}</ref> ''Pitchfork'',<ref>
{{cite web
 | last = DiCrescenzo
 | first = Brent
 | url = https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/10/
 | title = Top 100 Albums of the 1990s
 | magazine = [[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]
 | date = 17 November 2003
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090622023306/http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/10/
 | archive-date = 22 June 2009
| url-status = live
}}</ref> ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'',<ref>
{{citation
 |url         = http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1955625_1955759_1956108,00.html
 |title       = OK Computer – The ALL-TIME 100 Albums
 |last        = Tyrangiel
 |first       = Josh
 |author-link = Josh Tyrangiel
 |date        = 2 November 2006
|magazine    = [[Time (magazine)|Time]]
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110731085032/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1955625_1955759_1956108,00.html
 |archive-date = 31 July 2011
|url-status     = dead
}}</ref> ''[[Metro Weekly]]''<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.metroweekly.com/2014/04/50-best-alternative-albums-of-the-90s/
 | title = 50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s
 | magazine = [[Metro Weekly]]
 | last = Gerard
 | first = Chris
 | date = 4 April 2014
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160221085312/http://www.metroweekly.com/2014/04/50-best-alternative-albums-of-the-90s/
 | archive-date = 21 February 2016}}</ref> and ''[[Slant Magazine]]''<ref>{{cite journal
 | url = https://slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-90s/251/page_10
 | title = Best Albums of the '90s
 | date = 14 February 2011 | journal = [[Slant Magazine]]
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110809110046/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/feature/best-albums-of-the-90s/251/page_10
 | archive-date = 9 August 2011
| url-status = live
}}</ref> placed ''OK Computer'' prominently in lists of best albums of the 1990s or of all time. It was voted number 4 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' 3rd Edition (2000). ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it 42 on its list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]] in 2020.<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Greene|first=Andy|date=24 September 2020|title=Rolling Stone 500: Radiohead's Futuristic Breakthrough 'OK Computer'|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/500-greatest-albums-radiohead-ok-computer-1059469/|access-date=24 September 2020|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US}}</ref> It was previously ranked at 162 in 2003<ref name="rollingstonelist">{{cite magazine
 |url         = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/ok-computer-radiohead-19691231
 |title       = 162 OK Computer – Radiohead
 |magazine    = [[Rolling Stone]]
 |year        = 2004
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110729151012/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-19691231/ok-computer-radiohead-19691231
 |archive-date = 29 July 2011
|url-status     = dead
}}</ref> and 2012.<ref>{{cite magazine| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/radiohead-ok-computer-158139/| year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| magazine=Rolling Stone| access-date=18 September 2019| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190925171407/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/radiohead-ok-computer-158139/| archive-date=25 September 2019| url-status=live}}</ref> In 2019, ''[[Classic Rock (magazine)|Classic Rock]]'' ranked it at 47 in its list of "The 50 best rock albums of all time": "Combining prog with alternative influences, they came up with a style that was supple, subtle and sensuous. This wasn't Pink Floyd for the end of the millennium, it was original, visionary and brilliant [...] An epochal album that called time on the narrow colloquial nostalgia of Britpop, sold millions and turned Radiohead into global angst-rock superstars, ''OK Computer'' is not quite the flawless masterpiece of fond folklore, but it holds up extremely well."<ref>{{cite web |date=12 October 2019 |title=The 50 best rock albums of all time |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-50-best-rock-albums-ever |access-date=11 March 2024 |work=[[Louder Sound]]}}</ref>

Retrospective reviews from [[BBC Music]],<ref name="LUSK">{{cite journal
 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wcp2
 | title = Radiohead: OK Computer
 | last = Lusk
 | first = Jon
 | journal = [[BBC Music]]
 | publisher = BBC
 | date = 5 August 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110818094645/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/wcp2
 | archive-date = 18 August 2011
| url-status = live
}}</ref> ''[[The A.V. Club]]''<ref name="AVClub retrospective">{{citation
 |last        = Thompson
 |first       = Stephen
 |author-link  = Stephen Thompson (journalist)
 |url         = https://www.avclub.com/radiohead-ok-computer-1798194046
 |title       = Radiohead: OK Computer
 |magazine    = [[The A.V. Club]]
 |date        = 29 March 2002
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110629182946/http://www.avclub.com/articles/radiohead-ok-computer,21296/
 |archive-date = 29 June 2011
|url-status     = live
}}</ref> and ''Slant''<ref name="Slant review">{{citation
 | last = Cinquemani
 | first = Sal
 | url = https://slantmagazine.com/music/review/radiohead-ok-computer/1123
 | title = Radiohead: OK Computer
 | magazine = [[Slant Magazine]]
 | date = 27 March 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110809090417/http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/radiohead-ok-computer/1123
 | archive-date = 9 August 2011
| url-status = live
}}</ref> were favourable. ''Rolling Stone'' gave the album five out of five in the 2004 edition of ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]'', with [[Rob Sheffield]] writing: "Radiohead was claiming the high ground abandoned by [[Nirvana (band)|Nirvana]], [[Pearl Jam]], [[U2]], [[R.E.M.]], everybody; and fans around the world loved them for trying too hard at a time when nobody else was even bothering."{{Sfn|Sheffield|2004|p=671}} Christgau said later that "most would rate ''OK Computer'' the apogee of [[postmodern music|pomo]] texture".<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=18 February 2003|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj02.php|title=Party in Hard Times|newspaper=The Village Voice|access-date=25 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181026025050/https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/pnj/pj02.php|archive-date=26 October 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2014, the United States [[National Recording Preservation Board]] selected the album for preservation in the [[National Recording Registry]] of the [[Library of Congress]], which designates it as a sound recording that has had significant cultural, historical or aesthetic impact in American life.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/complete-national-recording-registry-listing/|title=Complete National Recording Registry Listing |website=Library of Congress|access-date=15 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200309102746/https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/recording-registry/complete-national-recording-registry-listing/|archive-date=9 March 2020|url-status=live}}</ref> In ''The New Yorker'', [[Kevin Dettmar]] of described it as the record that made modern world possible for alternative rock music.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Dettmar |first=Kevin |date=20 May 2022 |title=Radiohead's "OK Computer" Turns Twenty-Five |url=https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/radioheads-ok-computer-turns-twenty-five |access-date=12 March 2023 |magazine=[[The New Yorker]]}}</ref>

''OK Computer'' has been cited by some as undeserving of its acclaim. In a poll surveying thousands conducted by [[BBC Radio 6 Music]], ''OK Computer'' was named the sixth-most overrated album.<ref>{{cite web
 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/overrated/shortlist.shtml
 | title = Most Overrated Album in the World
 | publisher = [[BBC Radio 6 Music]]
 | date = October 2005
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120408035917/http://www.bbc.co.uk/6music/events/overrated/shortlist.shtml
 | archive-date = 8 April 2012
| url-status = live
}}</ref> David H. Green of ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'' called the album "self-indulgent whingeing" and maintains that the positive critical consensus towards ''OK Computer'' is an indication of "a 20th-century delusion that rock is the bastion of serious commentary on popular music" to the detriment of [[Electronic music|electronic]] and [[dance music]].<ref>{{cite news
 | first = David H.
 | last = Green
 | url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/5011623/OK-Computer-Box-Set-Not-OK-Computer.html
 | title = OK Computer Box Set: Not OK Computer
 | newspaper = [[The Daily Telegraph]]
 | date = 18 March 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111015073211/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/5011623/OK-Computer-Box-Set-Not-OK-Computer.html
 | archive-date = 15 October 2011
| url-status = live
}}</ref> The album was selected as an entry in "Sacred Cows", an ''NME'' column questioning the critical status of "revered albums", in which Henry Yates said "there's no defiance, gallows humour or chink of light beneath the curtain, just a sense of meek, resigned despondency" and criticised the record as "the moment when Radiohead stopped being 'good' [compared to ''The Bends''] and started being 'important{{'"}}.<ref>{{cite journal
 |first       = Henry
 |last        = Yates
 |url         = http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=140&title=sacred_cows_radiohead_ok_computer&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
 |title       = Sacred Cows – Is Radiohead's 'OK Computer' Overrated?
 |journal    = [[NME]]
 |date        = 3 April 2011
|archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20110711160441/http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=140&title=sacred_cows_radiohead_ok_computer&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1
 |archive-date = 11 July 2011
|url-status     = dead
}}</ref> In a ''Spin'' article on the "myth" that "Radiohead Can Do No Wrong", Chris Norris argues that the acclaim for ''OK Computer'' inflated expectations for subsequent Radiohead releases.<ref>{{cite journal
 | first = Chris
 | last = Norris
 | url = https://www.spin.com/2009/11/myth-no-1-radiohead-can-do-no-wrong/?aggr_node=55990
 | title = Myth No. 1: Radiohead Can Do No Wrong
 | journal = [[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]
 | date = 9 November 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160306145616/http://www.spin.com/2009/11/myth-no-1-radiohead-can-do-no-wrong/?aggr_node=55990
 | archive-date = 6 March 2016
| url-status = live
}}</ref> Christgau felt "the reason the readers of the British magazine ''Q'' absurdly voted ''OK Computer'' the greatest album of the 20th century is that it integrated what was briefly called electronica into rock". Having deemed it "self-regarding" and overrated, he later warmed to the record and found it indicative of Radiohead's cerebral sensibility and "rife with discrete pleasures and surprises".<ref>{{cite news|last=Christgau|first=Robert|date=8 July 2003|url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/radiohead-03.php|title=No Hope Radio|newspaper=The Village Voice|access-date=25 October 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140325185359/https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/rock/radiohead-03.php|archive-date=25 March 2014}}</ref>