Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, in his review of Diamond Dogs, called the song "tight" and "sexy" and one of Bowie's best, although he felt the song did not contribute to the overall theme of the album. Dave Thompson, also of AllMusic, described "Rebel Rebel" as one of Bowie's most "playful" numbers and considered it a fitting farewell to the artist's glam rock era and, in a way, to "the entire glam movement which Bowie created", as well as indicating the direction his career was taking. Barry Walters of Pitchfork, in a review of Diamond Dogs following Bowie's death, praised the song's "glorious" guitar riff, its "stomping beat", the "hot tramp" lyric pause between both and their "return". Walters continued, "If Bowie often drifted above listeners' heads, here he shoots straight at their solar plexus and scores with what ranks among the greatest, most insistent riffs of the '70s. Rockers who'd dismissed Bowie as a dandy now gave the dude a pass." Journalist C. M. Crockford of punknews.org called "Rebel Rebel"'s guitar riff the best Bowie ever wrote, and a fitting end to his glam rock era. Following Bowie's death in 2016, Rolling Stone listed "Rebel Rebel" as one of his 30 essential songs. Spencer Kaufman of Ultimate Classic Rock ranked the song at number seven on his list of Bowie's 10 greatest songs, praising its guitar riff – "one of the most recognizable guitar riffs in rock history" – and as a glam rock anthem, writing, "the tune serves as the perfect bridge between the Rolling Stones and punk rock." In 2018, the writers of NME listed "Rebel Rebel" as Bowie's fifth greatest song. They praised the "heaven-sent" riff and also believed it to be reminiscent of the Rolling Stones. Jon Savage of The Guardian, in his list of the 20 best glam-rock songs of all time, ranked the US version of the single at number 18. Live performances On 14 February 1974, Bowie recorded a lip synced performance of "Rebel Rebel" at Hilversum's Avro Studio 2 for the Dutch television programme Top Pop. Broadcast two days later, it featured Bowie superimposed over flashing disco lights "by the miracle of chromakey" and donning what Pegg called his short-lived "pirate image" – a spotted neckerchief and a black eye-patch. Bowie later recalled: Following the performance, the pirate look, along with the Ziggy Stardust hairstyle, was ditched in favour of the "swept-back