A commercial success, Can't Buy a Thrill peaked at number 17 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart, bolstered by the popular singles "Do It Again" and "Reelin' In the Years", and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

[citation needed] According to writers Marjorie Galen and Gordon Matthews, Can't Buy a Thrill features an upbeat soft rock style.

[12][13] It includes images of muscle-men and a line of prostitutes (standing in Rue du Gros-Horloge in Rouen, France),[citation needed] waiting for clients, which was chosen because of its relevance to the album title.

[19] Reviewing the album in November 1972 for Rolling Stone, James Isaacs said Can't Buy a Thrill is "distinguished by three top-level cuts and scattered moments of inspiration," but felt the band occasionally sounded "limp".

[27] In his review for Creem, Robert Christgau deemed the package "A hit single with a good album attached", and said he found the lyrics "oblique, even philosophical [...] as befit a band named after a dildo in a William Burroughs novel.

"[21] In a retrospective review for BBC Music, Paul Lester said the album is so "fully-formed [...] that you would scarcely believe that it's their debut", and contains "tightly constructed songs with dazzling hooks, clever, cryptic lyrics, and vocals that offer teasing critiques for those that want them.

"[7] Writing for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the songs on the album "subvert traditional conventions" and are "tightly constructed, with interlocking chords and gracefully interwoven melodies, buoyed by clever, cryptic lyrics", but criticized the contributions of vocalist David Palmer, writing that he "oversings the handful of tracks where he takes the lead", which caused Becker and Fagen to temper "their wildest impulses with mainstream pop techniques.