Rolling Stone listed Live in Cook County Jail at number forty on its list of the greatest live albums ever made, and at number 499 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Live in Cook County Jail entry on the magazine's list of the greatest albums of all time states: "[King] won over the hostile prisoners with definitive versions of his blues standards and his crossover hit 'The Thrill Is Gone.'" In 2002, Live in Cook County Jail was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame under the category of "Classic of Blues Recording – Album".
