more mixed review, Lorraine Ali of the Los Angeles Times felt the band "do their best to alienate the common listener." She wrote: "When not pretending to be superhuman, Suede churns out strong songs--a couple of fun, post-punk, power-pop tunes among them. But mostly the band oozes alluring, tousled and sexy songs over sometimes steamy lyrics or weaves sad and opiated melodies around Anderson’s shooting highs and desperate lows." The album featured in the top ten end-of-year best-of lists of NME, Select, Melody Maker,The Face, OOR and Eye Weekly. Commercial performance The album charted at no. 1 in the UK Albums Chart, selling more than 100,000 copies in the first week. It spent 11 weeks in the top 40. In March 1993 the British Phonographic Industry has certified the album as gold. By September 1994, UK sales were 220,000 and sales outside the UK were around 400,000, with the largest markets being Japan (69,000), Germany (42,000), Sweden (39,000) and France (37,000). Three weeks after entering the chart, it peaked at no. 14 on the US Heatseekers Albums Chart on 26 June 1993. It also charted at no. 8 on the European Top 100 Albums chart, staying there for 16 weeks. As of September 2020, the album has sold 301,000 copies in the UK, according to the Official Charts Company. Suede is the group's best-selling album in the United States, having sold about 105,000 copies as of September 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Much of the total album sales in the UK consisted of the initial rush during the first few weeks. As of September 2019, of all the Mercury Prize winning albums, Suede is the 16th best-selling out of 27; despite being one of only three chart-topping albums on the list. The other two number ones, Arctic Monkeys' debut and Pulp's Different Class are the top-two best-selling Mercury Prize winners. Legacy and influence Suede's debut album is regarded by critics as a defining album of the Britpop era, and is often credited for starting Britpop. While most critics consider follow-up album Dog Man Star as the band's best work, there are a few who have recognised the first album as their finest moment. Reviewing the 2011 reissue, Kevin Courtney of The Irish Times spoke of the strength of Suede's early singles. Rating it above Dog Man Star, which he felt was "too fragmented and flawed to be their masterpiece." Likewise,