Given the significant differences between the two versions of this album, critical reception varies depending on which version is being reviewed. The reception of the US release invariably regards it as a classic given its inclusion in several "best of" lists. The original
Rolling Stone review states that "this is the cream of their crop, with a couple of exceptions".
Funky Kingston, Toots and the Maytals’ first release to be distributed by
Chris Blackwell’s
Island Records label proved to be a critical triumph. Rock critic
Lester Bangs, writing in
Stereo Review, described the album as "perfection, the most exciting and diversified set of reggae tunes by a single artist yet released." Reviewing the 1975 American release,
Robert Christgau wrote in ''
Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies'' (1981): "The quick way to explain the Maytals is to say that in reggae they're the
Beatles to
the Wailers'
Rolling Stones. But how do I explain Toots himself? Well, he's the nearest thing to
Otis Redding left on the planet: he transforms 'do re mi fa sol la ti do' into joyful noise. I wish he had real politics—any Jamaican who can only pray to God about this time tough hasn't ever been compelled to explore all his options—and lately his arrangements have been looser than I'd like, but this is a gift."
Funky Kingston was ranked at number 380 in
Rolling Stone's 2012 list of greatest albums of all time, with the magazine saying, "Loose, funky, exuberant,
Kingston is the quintessential document of Jamaica's greatest act after
Bob Marley." In a retrospective review in 2020,
Pitchfork's Wayne Marshall wrote that
Funky Kingston is more "reflective of the core Jamaican sound" than Bob Marley's music. He called
Funky Kingston a "classic", saying that it "captured the country soul of roots reggae at its creative peak", and that it is a "wry testament to the shared circumstances of the black and working-class masses". ==Appearances in other media==