Retrospectively, Electric Warrior has received critical acclaim and is regarded as one of Marc Bolan's best works. Chris Jones of BBC Music called the album a "slice of pop heaven," and stated that "this was the point at which he and long-term producer Tony Visconti took the hippy-dippy lyrics and Larry the lamb vocal stylings and bolted them on to good old stripped-down, four-to-the-floor rock 'n' roll." In his retrospective review, Steve Huey of AllMusic called it "the album that essentially kick-started the U.K. glam rock craze" and wrote that "the real reason Electric Warrior stands the test of time so well – despite its intended disposability – is that it revels so freely in its own absurdity and wilful lack of substance [...] Bolan's lack of pomposity, back-to-basics songwriting, and elaborate theatrics went on to influence everything from hard rock to punk to new wave." Brian James of Pitchfork called it "the first and best of a trio of brilliant albums," stating that "When T.Rex is kicking out the jams, they sound like they're having the most gleeful, absurd good time ever committed to wax," but adding that "the most significant aspect of Electric Warrior isn't its arena rock confidence; it's that Bolan allows his grinning mask to slip [...] On ballads like 'Cosmic Dancer', 'Monolith' and 'Girl', he speaks in the same gibberish as elsewhere, but he's clearly haunted-- by what we can't say."
