And this confidence is collective: Corin and Carrie chorus-trade like the two-headed girl, dashing and high-stepping around on Janet Weiss's shoulders. What a ride". "Dig Me Out" appeared at No. 4 in "The Village Voice"s Pazz & Jop critics' poll for 1997. In the poll's accompanying essay, Christgau referred to the album as one of his "favorite albums of the year, easy", alongside those by Pavement, Yo La Tengo, and Arto Lindsay. Similarly, "Spin" journalists placed the album at No. 3 in their list of Top 20 Albums of the Year. Retrospectively, "Dig Me Out" is considered Sleater-Kinney's breakthrough album. According to About.com's Anthony Carew, the record took the band "from the cult corner of the Pacific Northwest to international acclaim". Writing for Nooga.com, Joshua Pickard stated that the album "was a revelation for both its clever use of punk principles and for its breakdown of social assumptions." With the album, Pickard felt that Sleater-Kinney "succeeded in reshaping what was considered possible for punk rock", and that the album transformed the band into "an institution of rebellion and proponents of a musical insurgency. And they never compromised on their ideas of what music could and should be." "Dig Me Out" is frequently included on several publications' best album lists. In 1999, "Dig Me Out" was ranked No. 21 on "Spin"s list of The 90 Greatest Albums of the '90s. In 2001, "Spin" placed it at No. 19 on its list of 50 Most Essential Punk Records. In 2012, the album was ranked No. 272 on "Rolling Stone"s list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. In 2005, the album was ranked No. 24 in "Spin"s 100 Greatest Albums, 1985–2005. In 2012, "Spin" also ranked it at No. 74 on their 125 Best Albums of the Past 25 Years, stating that ""Dig Me Out" captures the noise of a soul-filled body shaking itself awake, and that's an experience that bridges any gender divide." In 2008, the song "Dig Me Out" was ranked No. 44 in "Rolling Stone"s "100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". In 2011, the album was placed at No. 71 by "Slant Magazine" on its list of The 100 Best Albums of the 1990s.