Critical Reception
The song has been met with universal acclaim ever since its release. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Madonna: An Intimate Biography, said that the song demonstrated Madonna's ability to create infectitious dance music. Rikky Rooksby, author of Madonna: the complete guide to her music, said that "'Into the Groove' will make you feel like you're a winner either way. And that's one of the best things pop music can do for ya. Madonna's first great single." Clive Barker and Simon Trussler, authors of New Theatre Quarterly, felt that the song was the first disco-anthem of the 1980s. Toby Cresswell, author of 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time and the Artists, Stories and Secrets, said that the song is a "sweet, limited white tune on the top, and there's Madonna – all the right-shop chic – dragging the straight world into this subterranean paradise. All the magic of the eighties is right here." Matthew Rettenmund, author of Totally Awesome 80s: A Lexicon of the Music, Videos, Movies, TV Shows, Stars, and Trends of that Decadent Decade, declared "Into the Groove" as the ultimate 80s song and felt that it "cemented Madonna's place as the dancing queen of the era". Dawn Keetley and John Pettigrew, authors of Public Women, Public Words: A Documentary History of American Feminism, called it a "mesmerizing theme song".
Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, commented that the song "taunted playfully". Sal Cinquemani from Slant ranked it at twenty-nine on the list of "100 Greatest Dance Songs". He commented: "It's hard to imagine the most famous woman in the world dancing alone in her bedroom at night, locking the doors so 'no one else can see' (as she sings on 'Groove'), even 20 years ago, but you can't help but believe her. The song—and Madonna's performance—are that good." Alfred Soto from Stylus commented that "'Into the Groove' itself is as much wish-fulfillment as 'Crazy For You'. Austin Scaggs from Rolling Stone commented that the song had "an amazing bassline". By the end of the 1980s, "Into the Groove" was honored by Billboard magazine as the "Dance Single of the Decade." In 2003, Madonna fans were asked to vote for their top-twenty Madonna singles of all-time by Q magazine; "Into the Groove" was allocated the number-three spot. In 2009, the song was ranked at ninety on Blender magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born".
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