[4] The attention was aided by the inclusion of the emo staple "A Picture Postcard", which had been released earlier on the Falsetto Keeps Time (1996) EP.

The band toned down the punk rock-esque Midwest emo sound that Bohlen pioneered when he was a member of Cap'n Jazz.

[5] Drummer Dan Didier had a strained relationship with bassist Scott Beschta throughout the sessions: "I’m shocked that we just didn't just off one another because it was a bad time.

[15] PopMatters writer Brian Stout said Bohlen "captures moments, engages in wordplay and repetitive words and phrases", and includes references to Air Supply and Television.

[19] "Make Me a Chevy" sees Bohlen compare a woman to a car; it evolved out of someone tuning their instrument and Gnewikow playing harmonics over it.

[20] It is followed by "A Broken Tenor", which opens with the sound of a house party, and one participant is heard quoting the Sylvia Plath poem "Daddy".

[23][24][25] The album's artwork was shot by Jade Tree co-founder Tim Owen and designed by Gnewikow; it shows a brightly lit photograph of a boardwalk against a white background with colored dots lined up around it.

[26] He said of the cover: "The record is really happy, but there's also a melancholy" feeling to it, juxtaposed with the closed amusement park photo with people scattered about.

[4][33] The band returned to touring after a six-week break, though with Gnewikow suffering intermittent pain in his collarbone from the placement of his guitar strap.

[3][34][35] After a few shows with Burning Airlines, they went on another tour with Jimmy Eat World in April 1998,[35][36] and then embarked on a European trek with Jets to Brazil.

[38] It shows the band performing in a living room, cut with footage of a game of football, a man swimming and rollerblading.

"[44] Punk Planet writer Dan Sinker said it blew "everything they've previously done out of the water", receiving the "production they deserve", which "allows them to shine through the entire album".

"[11] In a retrospective review, Punknews.org staff member Joe Pelone said the record acted as the best starting point for people wishing to get into the group, calling it "catchy, rocking and heartfelt in equal measures.

"[42] Nothing Feels Good pushed the band to the forefront of the emo music scene,[46] forging the way for releases such as Something to Write Home About (1999) by the Get Up Kids and Bleed American (2001) by Jimmy Eat World.

[9] The band became the most successful emo act of the era with sales of Nothing Feels Good reaching the mid-five figures,[47] becoming a defining album in the genre's second wave.

[5][48] Paste writer Justin Jacobs said that "few albums sum up the mid-'90s emo movement in sound or attitude" than Nothing Feels Good.

[5] Mike Damante of the Houston Chronicle said "Red & Blue Jeans" acted as a blueprint for the likes of Taking Back Sunday and New Found Glory.

[19] Eduardo Cepeda of Vice said the artwork was "one of the quintessential visual cues in the emo canon," and also within Jade Tree's roster as Owen and Gnewikow worked on a lot of releases for the label.