"the singles" received critical acclaim from music critics. at metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 85, based on 14 reviews. allmusic editor heather phares commented that the album "shows that [the duo's] craftsmanship and good taste may have been their most defining quality", while noting that "[t]heir style-hopping sounds less like searching for what will stick and more like the product of two restlessly creative artists who had the talent to do just about anything they wanted and tried a little of everything." pitchfork's matthew perpetua wrote that goldfrapp "have spent the past decade moving back and forth between icy electro-glam and atmospheric balladry, delivering these extremes in tonally consistent albums that dare to alienate listeners who favor one style over the other." matt james of popmatters commented, "over the course of five albums, goldfrapp have proved themselves one of the most imaginative, artistic and entertaining bands of this new century", concluding that the compilation "offers an intriguing introduction to one of britain's premier pop art bands." drowned in sound's david edwards opined that "the most striking thing from their singles compilation is that within this, they actually managed to craft some rather excellent pieces of pop orientated electronica", adding that on "the singles", goldfrapp are "exactly how they wanted the world to see them: sleek, intelligent, flirtatious and deliciously off their tits."