Following the death of Schlesinger,
Goldmine published their "10 Great Fountains of Wayne Songs" list, where "Radiation Vibe" was listed. Writer John M. Borack stated the song "chugs along quite nicely, with a set of lyrics that don't quite make perfect sense, but with a chorus that soars into the stratosphere."
The New York Times released their "Adam Schlesinger's 30 Essential Songs" list, featuring "Radiation Vibe". Writer Rob Tannenbaum described the track as a "lightly adorned power pop that became richer on subsequent albums, while keeping the downtrodden, slightly resentful tone." On
NMEs "Adam Schlesinger's 10 best songs" list, author Mark Grassick wrote on the song, "Sublime hooks, a tasteful amount of grit and a chorus that seems to reach the heavens – it's '90s alt-rock at its absolute finest." In the 2021 edition of
Rolling Stone Magazine's "500 Greatest Songs", "Radiation Vibe" was placed at the 380 spot. In a retrospective review, Annie Zaleski of
The A.V. Club wrote, "Repetitive, whirligig-like guitar riffs; a loud-quiet-loud arrangement; and a dreamy, classic 'baby, baby, baby' chorus call make the song feel simultaneously uber-'90s and surprisingly timeless." On the 25th anniversary of
Fountains of Wayne, Chris Conaton of
PopMatters also wrote a retrospective review, who said of the song "is essentially Fountains of Wayne fully formed on their very first track. Sometimes the lyrics are clever, and sometimes they're nonsense. The song grooves along until it rocks. The whole thing is a big chunk of catchy pop-rock music that isn't trying to be tough or cool or follow the alternative rock trends of 1996." ==Chart performance==