Phinot's music was widely distributed, and he was highly praised by writers of the time, including Heinrich Finck and Pietro Cerone. Cerone called Phinot "one of the first and best composers of the time" and also said "had there been no Phinot, ... Palestrina's music would not have been possible."Reese, p. 350 Heinrich Finck ranked him with Crecquillon, Clemens non Papa and Gombert, three contemporary composers who wrote similar music; indeed Phinot's style strongly resembles Gombert's.
