Boom Box (album) - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Because Boom Box was not one of No Doubt's official studio albums, it lacked much attention from music critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album four stars out of five, although criticizing the mix of songs, saying that only "hardcore No Doubt fans ... would want any of this material." He called the set's appearance of being "a generous gift to fans" "deceiving" and the album not as "carefully assembled" as the standalone The Singles 1992–2003. He said that the packaging "feels as if it was done on the cheap" and criticized the lack of special features on the DVDs. However, he praised The Singles 1992–2003 and Everything in Time, calling them "very good" and that they displayed what a "dynamic singles band No Doubt was", summarizing the album as "something worthwhile for the fans".

However, The Singles 1992–2003 and Everything in Time from Boom Box were released separately and were reviewed as separate albums. The Singles 1992–2003 was well received by critics and was described as "a real joy" and a "stellar collection". Its mixture of styles was both praised as "sheer diversity" and criticised as having a "hotch-potch feel". The album charted well across Europe, Oceania and North America. In the United States, it sold 2.2 million copies, peaked at number 2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified gold, platinum and 2× platinum. It peaked in the top ten of the album charts of Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland; and in the top forty of the album charts of Germany, Australia, Belgium and Portugal. Everything in Time peaked at number 182 on the Billboard 200.