The critical reception was mixed. BBC's Collective magazine said that "This, their third 'proper' album, is certainly their most complete work to date, and arguably the first to be presented as one complete, cohesive whole. … this ranks as Thievery Corporation's finest yet."[5]Allmusic's John Bush said that the album "doesn't have the hooks or the production finesse to compete with The Mirror Conspiracy" but that "a few tracks on the backside do plow new ground, thanks in part to new guests..."[2] Among fans the album is popular, peaking at number 9 on Billboard's Independent Albums list on October 19, 2002[6] and number 2 on the Dance/Electronic Albums list on October 26, 2002.[6] A month after the album was released, The Richest Man in Babylon had 25,000 sales in the United States.[7]