The cover features a picture of a bright orange BMW E30 M3, Ocean's "dream car", in plain sight amidst lush greenery.

Ocean embarked on a solo concert tour through North America and Europe to promote the record, playing a total of 7 shows.

Because of the Eagles’ legal action, Nostalgia, Ultra is still unavailable on Spotify, even a decade since its release; it is considered one of the most famous and acclaimed albums not to be accessible on the streaming service.

[4] Recording artist Kanye West was reportedly a fan of the mixtape, which led to Ocean appearing on the album Watch the Throne.

He made the decision to pursue a career in music at a young age, and as a teen, he did neighborhood chores to fund his early studio sessions.

"[6] Eventually, he landed songwriting gigs for established artists like Brandy, John Legend, and Justin Bieber where he made substantially more money.

[7] In late 2009, he met producer Tricky Stewart, who helped Ocean sign a contract with Def Jam Recordings as a solo artist.

[7] In protest, Ocean joined the rap collective Odd Future which introduced him to artists such as Tyler, The Creator and Hodgy Beats.

[8] Ocean garnered acclaim and generated interest while in the group, and Rolling Stone magazine's Jonah Weiner called him a "gifted avant-R&B smoothie".

[14] Connor O'Neill of The Miscellany News writes that the cover begins the album with "so much atmosphere you almost melt into it" and then "spreads you over an apocalyptic swan song".

[17] Lyrically the track explores a narrative in which the singer meets a girl attempting to pay her way through dental school by working in porn.

[18] Several interludes are placed throughout the album, named after video games, such as Street Fighter, Metal Gear Solid, GoldenEye 007 and Soulcalibur.

[3] This is reported to give the album a more nostalgic feel; the record is "held together by tiny interludes named after 1990s video games in which the unmistakable sounds of a cassette player rewinding, fast-forwarding, and stopping are heard".

[22] Lyrically the track expresses a narrative where he tries to arrange an after-school meeting in his dad's empty house and brags about harmonizing to Otis, Isley and Marvin.

"[3][19] "Swim Good" has been called an "astonishing suicide song" and that Ocean finds himself dressed in black ('Like I'm ready for a funeral'), tormented by heartbreak and on the verge of driving his car into the sea.

[19] The song is a grim escape fantasy describing a murder suicide, which "has the singer driving his car to the shore, his trunk 'bleeding' with 'broken hearts'.

[35] Rolling Stone reviewed the debut show, calling Ocean awkward at times, though they stated that "fortunately his dispassionately told stories of love and loss in a world that assumes impermanence could handle the load of the audience.

[37] The New York Times critic Jon Caramanica gave a positive review to the same New York performance, calling Ocean a "versatile singer" and writing that "in his elegant, savvy, slightly crooked postsoul, he shifts sneakily between the two topics, singing about love as a byproduct of music and using the subject of music to dig deep about love.

[36][40] The performances of "American Wedding" were accompanied by comedic moments where Ocean played the sample from "Hotel California" on Guitar Hero: World Tour.

[21] Connor O'Neill of The Miscellany News wrote that, "by funneling [the primary means of R&B decadence] through his diverse and diverging palette, Ocean literalizes both his nostalgic impulses and the odd future of which he is a part.

"[46] In his review for MSN Music, Robert Christgau described Ocean's "romantic laments" as "models of texture, respect, and profound loss, their beats subtle, seductive, weird, and seized like time whether he's deploying 'songs for women' that are soon trumped by Drake's, not feeling a porn-moonlighting dental student and her 'novacaine,' or annulling a courthouse wedding solemnized just before his bride turned in her term paper on hijab.

"[3] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "slick and intuitive ... full of astral soul that owes debts to Terence Trent D'Arby, Pharrell Williams, even Drake", adding that "[Ocean] sings casually but precisely, stretching out syllables as if he's forgetting to let them go.

"[48] NPR's Andrew Noz commented that "It's his songwriting, smart and subtle, that sets Ocean far apart from that pack", adding that "The finest moments of Nostalgia, Ultra orbit the same soul-baring and minutiae-obsessed space as Marvin Gaye's breakup opus Here, My Dear or any number of Prince's more idiosyncratic ballads".

[10] No Ripcord's Charlie Jebb wrote that "Nostalgia, Ultra has more than enough good stuff to establish Ocean as an artist to watch," calling it "[an] R&B record with crossover potential without sacrificing soul that creates a complete picture of its author, warts and all.

"[16] The Guardian writer Tim Jonze named it the year's third best album, musing "unafraid to tackle suicide, abortion and absent fathers, this free mixtape introduced one of our most refreshing new R&B stars.

Club ranked the album number 15 on its year-end list, commenting that "Nostalgia, Ultra became a runaway Internet hit that showed off Ocean's coaxing croon as well as his outré songwriting skills.

Sweetly romantic, yet pensive and moody, Nostalgia is an R&B record for manics, from the hazy lament of 'Novacane' to the inward-looking contradiction of 'Songs For Women' to the clever pop remakes of the Eagles' 'Hotel California' and Coldplay's 'Strawberry Swing'.

"[51] Rolling Stone named it the 24th best album of the year, writing "the debut mixtape from the 24-year-old singer (and Odd Future member) is an avant-R&B killer.

[56][57] In The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop poll of American critics nationwide, Nostalgia, Ultra finished 16th among albums that were voted for that year.

[citation needed] Former Voice critic Robert Christgau named it the fourth best album of the year in his dean's list traditionally published to accompany the poll.