of the genre that survived the crass label of 'foxcore'..." In The Village Voice, Robert Christgau noted the album's less caustic sound but praised Love's songwriting: "Punk aesthetic or no punk aesthetic, Courtney Love's songs wouldn't be compromised and might be deepened by steeper momentum and more articulate guitar noise. But they prevail anyway. Their focus is sexual exploitation, and not just by the media, evil straights, and male predators of every cultural orientation. She's also exploited by Courtney Love, and not only does she know it, she thinks about it." Musician Magazine wrote, "[Kurt] Cobain's much-discussed, little heard other half finally gets the chance to escape gossip-column purgatory and succeeds with flying colors... Courtney Love's foul, funny eloquence...cuts through all the bullshit with a mighty flourish." This sentiment was reassessed in a 2008 BBC review of the album, which stated, "In 1994 and the years that followed, tragedy and controversy seemed to overshadow everything Courtney Love touched. Thankfully, with every year that passes, it becomes easier to put the record's emotional baggage to one side and appraise it on the strength of its songs." "Since Pretty on the Inside, Courtney has learnt the art of writing a decent pop hook," observed Selects Clark Collis. "Disgorging your cathartic trauma in the studio is an admirable pastime but, if you really want to compete with Corgan, Vedder or even Cobain, then the Top 40 is still where it's at." Spin reviewed Live Through This very favorably with a 9/10 rating, noting, "Love rode her band's gargantuan riffs through a shy loner's air-guitar fantasy: rock stardom as revenge upon the entire human race." Reappraisal AllMusic praised the "raw pain" of the lyrics and described the album as an attempt to "compete in the commercial alternative rock arena", stating that notwithstanding the lyrical rawness, "Live Through This rarely sounds raw because of the shiny production and the carefully considered dynamics. Despite this flaw, the album retains its power because it was one of the few records patterned on Nevermind that gets the formula right, with a set of gripping hooks and melodies that retain their power even if they follow the predictable grunge pattern." John Peel listed it among his top twenty favorite albums of all time in 1997. In 2003, Rolling Stone included Live Through This in its list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, ranking it at number 466,