"Lyte As A Rock" debuted at #63 on the May 28, 1988 Top Black Albums chart. On July 9, 1988 the album peaked No. 50 on the then Billboard Top Black Albums, spending 16 weeks on the chart.[4]
Despite not having much commercial success, it has had a very good evaluation by critics since its publication and it has been considered by various media and specialized press as one of the best and most important rap albums, both in the 80s and in history,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11] mainly due to its influence on the subsequent work of other female rappers.[1][12][13][14][15][16] In January 1998, Lyte as a Rock was included on The Source's "The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time" list.[17] The album is broken down track-by-track by MC Lyte in Brian Coleman's book Check the Technique.[18]