Greatest Hits: My Prerogative - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

Mary Awosika of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune selected "I've Just Begun (Having My Fun)" as the best of the new tracks, and added that "The rest of the album is a romp down memory lane of when Spears was the 'It' girl of popular culture, ruling the pop charts as a multi-million dollar entertainment should. In all honesty, no one can deny Spears has recorded some great dance songs, and this album is the best way to get all the songs in one swoop". Faridul Anwar Farinordin of the New Straits Times said, "rest assured, fans will surely grab this one" and selected "Oops!... I Did It Again" and "Overprotected" as the best tracks. Annabel Leathes of BBC Online deemed it "calorific as the KFC burgers dished up at her chav-style wedding; twenty finger lickin' tracks that mirror her trajectory from pretty pop puff to lusty strumpet". Christy Lemire of the Associated Press stated that it was premature for Spears to release a greatest hits album compilation after only five years, but highlighted "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic" and "Everytime". Andy Petch-Jex of MusicOMH highlighted the first four tracks and commented "true some of the tunes are complete pony plops, but beneath the occasional reek there beats a solid gold pop heart".

Spence D. of IGN said, "If Britney Spears Greatest Hits: My Prerogative illuminates anything it's that Spears is a fairly proficient sonic chameleon, able to mimic and adopt the stylings of those who have come before her with enough panache and verve to convince younger generations that she's a bona fide pop revelation. This is the kind of kitschy album that you can get away with having because Spears is such a prevalent component of pop culture." James Gashinski of The Gazette said that "As a time capsule, My Prerogative does its job well," but "Added together, the pop hits on this album are somewhat less than the sum of their parts". He explained, "Even if it isn’t as great a listen as a cohesive album, My Prerogative does work as a portrait of the time when Britney Spears was the defining figure of American pop culture". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic agreed with Gashinski, but added "if you compare it to The Immaculate Collection, which captured the time when Madonna was the defining figure of American pop culture and does work as an album, it's clear that a cultural artifact isn't necessarily the same thing as great music".

Ann Powers of Blender said, "The hits collected on My Prerogative are as sticky as soda and almost as easy to rinse out. Spears will go down in history books, but not for anything she’s created, besides a world-class stir". She named "...Baby One More Time" "the song that defined her legacy" and also added, "In less than five minutes, it contains an emotional storm that is both widely public and deeply personal. If only she had continued to prove worthy of that heroic task." Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said that "Listening to her hits all at once, you may be struck by the seductive severity of Ms. Spears's music: the beats are sharp as tines, the lyrics are filled with evocations of fear and control, the voice projects nothing you might mistake for warmth".