[10] In July 2009, launching his website's new Videotheque section, Beck uploaded a series of videos comprising acoustic band performances of every song on the album, recorded earlier in the year after returning home from his tour of Japan.

[12] Filter said of the album, "Beck is somehow more aware while puffing out his waves of broken poetry as opposed to the casual seed-spitting he has been known to turn to",[12] while AllMusic said that it was "an effective dosage of 21st century paranoia.

"[13] Some negative reviews, such as one from PopMatters, said that the album "lacks the unique resonating timbres one is accustomed to with Beck",[19] while The Guardian called it "a vanity project".

[16] In December 2008, Modern Guilt was nominated for Best Alternative Album at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards, but it lost to In Rainbows by Radiohead.

[25] Modern Guilt was awarded a silver certification from the Independent Music Companies Association, which indicated sales of at least 30,000 copies throughout Europe.