1991 received widespread acclaim from
music critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, it received an
average score of 84, based on nine reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". He said Banks "acts as if she had been raised at a classic
N.Y.C. loft party, one where you kept dancing and dissing", and found the production "nostalgic ... as if this EP fell through the cracks of the
Paradise Garage's sweaty
disco floorboards and then evolved in some alternative and fierce universe". In his consumer guide for
MSN Music,
Robert Christgau called "212" the highlight of an EP whose music is
minimalist yet skillfully crafted: "quick-tongued, lascivious, catchy, and delighted with itself ... there hasn't been a more pleasurable record all year and probably won't be—not even by her." In a less enthusiastic review for
Rolling Stone,
Will Hermes said the four tracks on
1991 "spin
hip-hop backwards and forwards", although he felt it was too short. Alex Macpherson of
Fact felt the EP is somewhat inconsistent, but he compared Banks favorably to
Missy Elliott and stated, "while the quality of the music remains disproportionate to the hype, it does make her bratty rejection of the rap establishment feel that much more thrilling."
Pitchfork journalist Lindsay Zoladz called it "another example of Banks' versatile skills", but lamented how "the half-statement of
1991 reminds us that Banks is still an artist in her development stage."
1991 was ranked by
Rolling Stone at number 30 in the magazine's list of 2012's 50 best albums, while
Time named it the 9th best album of 2012. In a year-end list for
The Barnes & Noble Review, Christgau ranked
1991 as the 11th best album of 2012 and the title track as the year's 13th best single. == Track listing ==