Upon its release, ...Baby One More Time garnered mixed reviews from music critics, with many praising its commercial appeal but deeming it silly and premature.

Subsequent singles "Sometimes" and "Born to Make You Happy" peaked within the top ten in most international countries while "(You Drive Me) Crazy" became Spears's second US Billboard Hot 100 top-ten hit.

Three rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson or another Tiffany."

[2] Jive's senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster stated: "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal.

"[3] Jive soon appointed Spears to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney.

During the same session for "Autumn Goodbye", Spears and Foster White also worked on a song called "Love Is On", which ultimately did not make the album and was later given to Sharon Cuneta.

[a][3][7][8] Martin showed Spears and her management a track titled "Hit Me Baby One More Time", originally written for American group TLC, who had rejected it.

[12] Spears originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger – more adult contemporary" for ...Baby One More Time, but acquiesced to the wishes of her label, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me.

"[3] The album opens with its lead single, "...Baby One More Time", a teen pop and dance-pop song beginning with a three-note motif in the bass range of the piano.

[21] Its lyrics allude to a relationship that a woman desires to repair, not quite understanding what went wrong, as she comes to realize that "I don't know how to live without your love / I was born to make you happy".

[23][24][25] "I Will Be There" is a pop rock song featuring a guitar riff similar to Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" (1997), with a "rousing chorus about standing by your man (or a best friend or a house pet)", as noted by Kyle Anderson of MTV.

[22] The cover of Sonny & Cher's 1967 single "The Beat Goes On" is influenced by bossa nova and trip hop,[22][26] and features a sound similar to spy film themes.

[32] Spears had appeared on Ricki Lake, The Howie Mandel Show, and was a presenter at the 1999 American Music Awards prior to the release.

[33] After recovering, Spears embarked on another promotional schedule, appearing at the 1999 Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee on May 3, MTV's FANatic on May 12, and The Rosie O'Donnell Show on May 25.

[35] The same month, Spears performed on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on September 27, and visited Carson Daly on MTV's Total Request Live the following day.

[41] On December 17, during the premiere of the music video of "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" on Total Request Live, Spears called the show to announce the March 2000 US tour dates.

[52] During the celebration of the 20th anniversary of Spears' debut single "...Baby One More Time", on October 19, 2018, Legacy Recordings announced the global release of the album on vinyl for November 23.

[3][20] After its accompanying music video premiered in late November, the single attained worldwide success in early 1999, peaking atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and in most countries it charted in.

[62] In May 1999, Max Martin and Spears went to the Battery Studios in New York City to re-record the vocals of "(You Drive Me) Crazy",[65] for a reproduced version subtitled "The Stop!

[67] "Born to Make You Happy" was released as the fourth and final European single from ...Baby One More Time on December 6, 1999, to a mixed critical reception.

[89] The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau highlighted the title track and "Soda Pop" while summing the album up as a "girl next door" version of Madonna.

[86] Walters also said that "while several Cherion-crafted kiddie-funk jams serve up beefy hooks, shameless schlock slowies, like 'E-Mail My Heart', is pure spam.

"[86] An NME reviewer rated ...Baby One More Time one out of ten, saying that "we seem to have reached crisis point: pubescent pop is now so rife that 17-year-old Britney 'lizard-lounge' Spears is already halfway through her lucrative showbiz career".

[84] He also found the album premature, commenting: "hopefully, if she starts to live the wretched life that we all eventually do, her voice will show the scars, she'll stop looking so fucking smug, she'll find solace in drugs and we'll be all the happier for it.

[128] Spears was at the forefront of the female teen pop explosion starting in 1999 and extending through the 2000s, leading the pack of Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, and Mandy Moore.

[129] All of these performers had been developing material in 1998, but the market changed dramatically in December 1998 when Spears' debut single and video were charting highly.

[131] Simpson consciously modeled her persona as more mature than Spears; her single "I Wanna Love You Forever" charted in September 1999, and her album Sweet Kisses followed shortly after.

The Daily Yomiuri reported that "critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson.

Rolling Stone wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that generated lots of cash".

[144] Barbara Ellen of The Observer reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination.