[1] In 2019, the album was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

[citation needed] An unusual aspect of the album release in the UK was the use of coloured vinyl, then primarily restricted to singles and EP's, and soon replaced as a marketing gimmick by so-called "picture discs".

When Cheap Trick at Budokan was first released on compact disc in the U.S., the first pressing contained a slightly different, possibly unpolished mix of the concert.

In the UK, Sandy Robertson from Sounds, while critical of Jack Douglas' production, concluded that "Cheap Trick are melodic enough to please pop-obscurity fans, heavy enough to net the Aerosmith mob, wacky enough to be eye-catching and good enough to take on the world.

"[12] Nick Kent in NME was more muted in his praise, writing that "Though it doesn't match up to In Colour as the best Cheap Trick initiation, Budokan is no disgrace.

"[14] In its official press release upon the album's entry into the National Recording Registry, the Library of Congress stated that, along with its success in the Japanese market, Cheap Trick at Budokan "proved to be the making of the band in their home country, as well as a loud and welcomed alternative to disco and soft rock and a decisive comeback for rock and roll.

"[4] In Pitchfork, Stuart Berman wrote on the album's success and influence, respectively, that "At Budokan, is not just one of rock's greatest live albums, but also one of its most triumphant underdog tales, an exemplar of pre-internet viral phenomena," and that "for the Foo Fighters, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Ted Leo, the Raconteurs—basically any band that's ever tried to weld a Beatlesque melody to a power chord—all roads lead back to Budokan.

"[15] Further invoking comparison to the Beatles, Nwaka Onwusa, director of curatorial affairs at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, spoke with 1A on the parallels between Beatlemania in the United States and Cheap Trick's reception in Japan: Sure we have the story about the Beatles...how Beatlemania hit the United States, but to have Cheap Trick then go overseas and do that same very thing...in Tokyo.

That’s total ‘Trickmania,’ for sure...it’s actually a beautiful story that [doesn’t] get a lot of shine or recognition because it didn’t happen here, but we have an American band...that created such tidal waves that then boomeranged back here in the United States.