'' OK Computer '' received critical acclaim . Critics in the British and American press generally agreed that the album was a landmark and would have far-reaching impact and importance , and that its experimentalism made it a challenging listen . According to Tim Footman , " Not since 1967 , with the release of '' Sgt. Pepper 's Lonely Hearts Club Band '' , had so many major critics agreed immediately , not only on an album 's merits , but on its long-term significance , and its ability to encapsulate a particular point in history . " In the English press , the album garnered favourable reviews in '' NME '' , '' Melody Maker '' , '' The Guardian '' , and '' Q '' . Nick Kent wrote in '' Mojo '' that " Others may end up selling more , but in 20 years ' time I 'm betting '' OK Computer '' will be seen as the key record of 1997 , the one to take rock forward instead of artfully revamping images and song-structures from an earlier era . " John Harris in '' Select '' wrote : " Every word sounds achingly sincere , every note spewed from the heart , and yet it roots itself firmly in a world of steel , glass , random-access memory and prickly-skinned paranoia . " The album was well received by critics in North America . '' Rolling Stone '' , '' Spin '' , '' Pittsburgh Post-Gazette '' , '' Pitchfork '' and the '' Daily Herald '' published positive reviews . In '' The New Yorker '' , Alex Ross praised its progressiveness , and contrasted Radiohead 's risk-taking with the musically conservative " dadrock " of their contemporaries Oasis . Ross wrote that " Throughout the album , contrasts of mood and style are extreme ... This band has pulled off one of the great art-pop balancing acts in the history of rock . " Reviews for '' Entertainment Weekly '' , the '' Chicago Tribune '' , and '' Time '' were mixed or contained qualified praise . Robert Christgau from '' The Village Voice '' said Radiohead immersed Yorke 's vocals in " enough electronic marginal distinction to feed a coal town for a month " and to compensate for how soulless the songs are , resulting in " arid " art rock . In an otherwise positive review , Andy Gill wrote for '' The Independent : '' " For all its ambition and determination to break new ground , '' OK Computer '' is not , finally , as impressive as '' The Bends '' , which covered much the same sort of emotional knots , but with better tunes . It is easy to be impressed by , but ultimately hard to love , an album that luxuriates so readily in its own despondency . " '' OK Computer '' was nominated for Grammy Awards as Album of the Year and Best Alternative Music Album at the 40th Annual Grammy Awards in 1998 , winning the latter . It was also nominated for Best British Album at the 1998 Brit Awards . The album was shortlisted for the 1997 Mercury Prize , a prestigious award recognising the best British or Irish album of the year . The day before the winner was announced , oddsmakers had given '' OK Computer '' the best chance to win among ten nominees , but it lost to '' New Forms '' by Roni Size/Reprazent
40th Annual Grammy Awards
40th Annual Grammy Awards
OK Computer