Absolute Garbage received generally positive reviews from music critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average score of 69, based on 12 reviews. Sal Cinqumani of
Slant Magazine gave a positive overview of the compilation, writing that the album "serves as an anthropological study of the musical relics of a bygone era", while Laila Hassani of
Heat summed up her five-star review by writing, "Few modern female-fronted rock bands stand the test of time, but this reminds you why, along with
Gwen Stefani's
No Doubt, Garbage are one of them." A reviewer for
Instinct wrote "this hits collection is loaded with songs best described as massive... you'll find something to love here". Jaime Gill, in a review for
BBC Music, felt that "
Absolute Garbage is a fine legacy, the sound of a briefly brilliant and always interesting band" and that overall the album "sounds like no other greatest hits you own."
Digital Spy's Nick Levine wrote, "By wrapping their nut-grabbing hooks and transcendent melodies in layers of gutsy guitars, Garbage managed to make
pop music for people who
thought they didn't like pop music. For that reason, whatever happens next, they deserve to be remembered fondly." Many reviewers felt that the chronological running order put more emphasis on the band's well-regarded earlier periods. "The selection of songs perhaps indicates Garbage view their career the same way many fans do", wrote Victoria Durham of
Rock Sound, and "that they never quite managed [to match] the brilliance of their early work." Johnny Dee of
Classic Rock expressed, "The later material here sounds formulaic, however, new song "Tell Me Where It Hurts" adds strings to the dynamic and sits well alongside their peerless early material".
AllMusic reviewer
Stephen Thomas Erlewine considered that despite ignoring 2000s singles such as "
Run Baby Run", "it already seems that the comp has lingered far longer than necessary on the last stage of Garbage's career", in contrast to the debut album singles "still sounding sleek and alluring."
Kerrang! magazine's Tom Byrant also felt that Garbage's work had dated, expounding, "Something that was once so much a part of the
Zeitgeist has remained rooted to the era it marked, untranslatable across the millennial divide. Still, songs like '
Stupid Girl' and '
Only Happy When It Rains' [...] maintain an urgency and spite that sees their intent remain intact."
Billboard writer Kerri Mason praised the choice of remixes on the special edition: "the band continually brought the best of
dance's best producers, not one of the thirteen tracks is a throwaway." Ben Hogwood of
musicOMH called the compilation a "deserved retrospective", further noting that "the best way to get to know Garbage is through their albums, which demonstrate their strength in depth. In particular the self-titled debut and
Version 2.0 withstand a heavy hammering on any stereo." ==Commercial performance==