Upon release,
Cash Box wrote: "Cheap Trick built its reputation on gutsy power-pop in the 1970s and continues in that vein on
Busted. Infectious rockers include "I Can't Understand It", while "When You Need Someone" and "Wherever Would I Be" are strong power ballads." Pan-European magazine
Music & Media noted: "The standard of songwriting and the overall delivery on
Busted is high. The songs are sharp, economical and could all be regarded as candidates for release as singles." Greg Sandow of
Entertainment Weekly commented: "There's nothing on Cheap Trick's new album but hard and happy rock & roll — oh, and drum eruptions, guitar fireworks, and enough irresistible hooks to last most other bands a lifetime. If there's any justice in the world,
Busted should be even more successful [than
Lap of Luxury]; not many records burst with this much strength and melody." Chuck Dean of
Rolling Stone wrote: "Like
Lap of Luxury, Cheap Trick's latest album offers exactly what everyone's learned to expect from this band: fast and loud or mildly soft music buried in clichés that chronicles standard teenage shopping-mall angst. [They] are all capable musicians, but their songs are as dumb and generic as they come." In a retrospective review,
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
AllMusic stated: "This vacant, radio-ready rocker finds the group at an unquestionable nadir. It's not just the sound, it's the paucity of material that is so dispiriting, the group either turning in pastiches of their trademarks or surrendering completely to the whims of studio hacks.
Busted remains a bumpy ride because the hollow sound only magnifies the hollowness of the band's songs." ==Track listing==