The record spent several weeks at number 2 on the main
Billboard album chart and 14 weeks at number 1 in the magazine's Top R&B Albums chart. It was certified Gold by the
RIAA in 1967, eventually selling nearly two million. It was voted number 352 in the third edition of
Colin Larkin's
All Time Top 1000 Albums (2000). It received a number 83 ranking on
Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of
the 500 greatest albums of all time, 84 in a 2012 revised list and 13 in the 2020 edition. The album was also included in both the
1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (2010) and
1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die (2008). When
Rolling Stone listed the "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" in 2002 and again 2012, the album was named at number one. The album included two top-10 singles: "Respect" was a number-1 single on
Billboards
Hot 100 Pop singles chart, and "I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You)" peaked at number 9. The album was rated the 10th best album of the 1960s by
Pitchfork. In 1967,
Rolling Stone chided the album for "the lack of versatility on the part of the sidemen. The drums weren't hard enough, the guitar was weak, and the production lacked polish." In 2002, though, they placed the album at number 1 on their "Women in Rock: 50 Essential Albums" list. In 2003, the album was ranked number 83 on
Rolling Stones list of "
The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". In 2023 they updated their placement and put the album at number 13. Music Critic
Robert Christgau, gave the album an A, stating that "Not all of the tracks sound inspired" but also that it was the best album she had made up until that point.
Q included the album on their list of the "100 Greatest Albums Ever".
Q also gave the album 4 stars and said "[the album] came out in May 1967 and was number 2 in America within weeks ... now it stands untainted by time. She seemed so much a force of nature it's strange to recall that this was actually her tenth album ..." In the obituary for Aretha Franklin,
Rolling Stone made this comment about
I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You: "It puts the emphasis not just on the great songs, or the amazing music, but on the person speaking them, her world, her story and whatever journey she's on in life. It rings out like revealed truth happening in real time, a declaration of independence." ==Track listing==