The 20/20 Experience received generally positive reviews from critics. At
Metacritic, which assigns a
normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an
average score of 75, based on 39 reviews. Sputnikmusic's Sobhi Youssef called it "expertly" written and produced, and cited it as a "profound manifestation" of recent innovations in R&B. Mikael Wood of the
Los Angeles Times found its elaborate structures ambitious in the vein of
Stevie Wonder,
Prince, and
Michael Jackson. Andy Gill of
The Independent called it "diversely enjoyable" and viewed Timbaland's production as solid, albeit not innovative. Jody Rosen, writing for
Rolling Stone, said that, although it lacks songs as immediate as Timberlake's previous hits, the album's multidimensional music eventually "sinks its teeth in, even on the wooziest songs." Jordan Sargent of
Spin called it a "sonic wonder" and said that the songs are ingenious enough to justify their lengths.
Pitchforks Ryan Dombal commended Timberlake for "shamelessly extol[ing] the joys of music and marriage", and viewed the album as more ambitious than his 2002 debut album
Justified and more consistent than
FutureSex/LoveSounds.
Kitty Empire, writing for
The Observer, found it mostly "terrific – lush and quirky too", with silly, respectable homages to Prince. Helen Brown of
The Daily Telegraph said that the music feels both grandiose and intimate, and that Timberlake makes up for his thin voice with "yearning charisma and sly timing to sell every swoon." Genevieve Koski of
The A.V. Club called the album "an exercise in sophisticated sexiness" and complimented Timberlake's "preternatural assuredness", viewing that his "skilled" performance rectifies the calculated production. However, some reviewers criticized the album's lyrics.
Alexis Petridis of
The Guardian felt that the album's adventurous music is marred by Timberlake's lyrics, which he called "porny" and "awful". George Morahan of
State called them banal and dismissed most of the music as "a protracted exploration of rhythm" that Timberlake and Timbaland are too familiar with.
Slant Magazines Eric Henderson wrote that they overembellished "rehashed"
musical ideas, "turning each B+ potential single into a C− epic."
AllMusic's Andy Kellman called the album "a pleasant and grown but tedious release from a charismatic entertainer and exceptional vocal arranger who is not a great recording artist", and said that "few songs are dynamic enough to justify their length" on a refined, but bloated album. Jon Caramanica of
The New York Times panned it as an "amiable, anodyne album" with little variation and seven-minute songs that masquerade as "artistry". Siân Rowe of
NME viewed that
Frank Ocean and
Miguel are "doing better R&B jams in under four minutes."
Accolades The 20/20 Experience was ranked at number 11 on
Billboards "15 Best Albums of 2013: Critics' Picks" list. Sputnikmusic staff ranked the album at number two on their year-end list.
Drowned in Sound featured the album at 17 on their list of favorite albums of the year. For their "The 20 Best Albums of the 2010s (So Far)" published in January 2015,
Billboard listed the album at number 14, commenting "Timberlake came back as a lovesick adult, bouncing old-school soul ideas off of his best bud Timbaland and writing a modern-day symphony for his beloved, Jessica Biel, that stretched for over an hour. We all grow up, but few do so as stylishly as JT." == Awards ==