Slant Magazine wrote that the song was a "celebratory tech-frenzy", and noted Madonna's elated singing. In a review of Madonna's second hits compilation, GHV2 (2001), Cinequemani wrote: Like no other Madonna hit in recent memory, the frenetic “Ray of Light” found the singer in a celebratory tech-frenzy. Whether it was an epiphany of the spiritual or sonic kind, her elation was unmistakable. Orbit’s cycles of analog synths and electric guitar licks perfectly supplemented the elasticity of Madonna’s newly-trained vocal chords. Not since “Deeper and Deeper” had she reached such dizzying heights. A reviewer from Sputnikmusic listed the track as a recommended listen from Ray of Light. O'Brien found the track to be an "ecstatic hymn to the skies". The A.V. Clubs Stephen Thompson commented that the "pumped-up title track is bound to be a deserving smash". J.D. Considine of The Baltimore Sun noted that Madonna's "newfound strength is particularly apparent in pulsing, rhythm driven tracks like ['Ray of Light'], which finds her soaring confidently at the top of her register on the busily percolating chorus, then whispering breathily on the brief, dream-like bridge". David Browne, while reviewing Ray of Light for Entertainment Weekly, deemed the song a "sirenlike techno-glitter-ball". Idolator's Stephen Sears explained that Madonna's vocals throughout the album were a "game-changer", including on the song, as she strengthened her voice while working on her film Evita. He ends his review by stating "Indeed, no choir is needed to lift 'Ray Of Light' into disco heaven. Madonna supplies the highs herself in some perfect moments: the extended, spiraling way she wails 'yea-ea-ears' at 3:27 or how her vocal spins out of control at 4:14, matched by Orbit's frenzied guitar work". Ranking Madonna's singles in honour of her 60th birthday, The Guardians Jude Rogers called it one of her "most joyous electronic pop singles". Chart performance In the United States, "Ray of Light" premiered at number five on the Billboard Hot 100, for the issue dated July 11, 1998. It was her highest-debuting single, surpassing previous best debuts with "You'll See" (1995) and "Frozen" (1998), both of which opened at number eight. The track became the singer's then 37th top-40 hit, moving her past Connie Francis on the list of women with most top-40 chartings on Hot 100. "Ray of Light" was present for a total of 20 weeks on the Hot 100, and placed at number 75 on the year-end