Y2K". Los Angeles Times writer Gerrick D. Kennedy stated that "we can all admit that 'Waiting for Tonight' played at our respective millennium celebrations." Dee Lockett, writing for the Chicago Tribune, stated that songs such as "Waiting for Tonight" made Lopez "arguably the leading artist in the dance-pop movement at the time". Andrew Barker of Variety magazine called the song her "breakout club hit", and wrote that it "seemed to anticipate the rise of Euro-centric dance pop. Although the song is not actually about the then-upcoming millennium and the year 2000, but instead about Lopez anticipating spending time with her lover, thus she's "waiting for tonight", marketing by the record label, as well as the music video funded by the label, tied the song to the new millennium instead. Stacy Lambe of VH1 stated the song quickly became a staple for Lopez. It simultaneously built up the excitement for the New Year while kissing off the fears and drama of the past. It was 1999 after all, and anything could happen." Nick Murray of Rolling Stone described it as "music worth getting lost in". In 2017, BuzzFeed listed the song at number 50 in their list of "The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s". In 2018, Rolling Stone ranked "Waiting for Tonight" at number thirty on a list of "50 Greatest Latin Pop Songs", with Suzy Exposito writing: "A reflection of her own experience as a Puerto Rican in the mainland – a perspective shared by many Latinx people living in the United States – 'Waiting for Tonight' pays a soft tribute to the island sounds that raised her, while dominating dance charts around the world and cracking Top Ten on the Billboard Hot 100. Lopez was part of a 1990s Latin "explosion" that saw Latin artists having more mainstream success, that would later include Selena Gomez in the 2000s, just as Gloria Estefan and the Miami Sound Machine, and Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam helped paved the way starting in the 1980s." In 2019, Billboard ranked "Waiting for Tonight" as the ninth greatest song of 1999, stating "its themes are universal, the music is infectious, and the chorus remains timeless (...) If 'Tonight' premiered today, it would still be a smash." David Browne of Entertainment Weekly was critical of the album On the 6, but he felt that "Waiting for Tonight" stood out among the album's tracks. Richard