Release and reception
On November 12, 1996, Infinite was released by Web Entertainment. It is not known exactly how many copies Infinite sold. Eminem stated in his autobiography The Way I Am (2008) that it sold "maybe 70 copies". However, other sources stated that the album sold a few hundred copies or even a thousand copies. Eminem's overall disappointment with Infinite's lack of success inspired him to develop his famous Slim Shady alter ego, which featured in later albums.
On May 14, 2009, thisis50.com re-released the album for free download on their website to build anticipation for Eminem's sixth studio album, Relapse (2009) which was a comeback album. On November 17, 2016, a remix of the album's title track "Infinite" was released 5 days after the 20th anniversary of the album’s release and as a commemoration of that event. The remix was followed by a documentary about the making of Infinite, also released the same day.
Retrospective reviews of Infinite from music critics were mixed. AllMusic gave it an "Editor Score" of 2.5 out of 5 stars, without a review. Rob Kenner of Complex gave the album a mixed review, saying Eminem "has yet to develop his own distinctive style", and that it was a "competent but unremarkable effort". Mosi Reeves from Rolling Stone stated, that "Probably the most surprising thing on Infinite is hearing [Eminem] rap, 'In the midst of this insanity, I found my Christianity through God' on 'It's O.K.'", noting that spiritual elements had not been prominent in his lyrics as his career progressed. According to Christian hip-hop media outlet Rapzilla, Eminem would pray before shows in the early 2000s. On a 2022 remix of Kanye West's "Use This Gospel", Eminem raps faith-based lines such as "I put all of my trust and faith in You, Father," and "my Savior I call on to rescue me ... He is my shepherd. I'm armed with Jesus, my weapon is prayer."
In a more positive review, Tedd Maider of Consequence of Sound describes Infinite as "a more genuine glimpse of the rapper that is Eminem", and commented that it is "quick-witted and unique rhyming", "lyrical chops, raw style beats, and mentality" could only be matched by his third studio album The Marshall Mathers LP (2000).
Ranking Eminem's 10 studio albums for Stereogum in 2019, Christopher R. Weingarten placed Infinite eighth, concluding that "mostly Infinite is just a lo-fi document of a remarkable underground MC before he had his pop sensibility ironed out". In XXL magazine's 2021 ranking of Eminem's 11 studio albums, Kemet High placed Infinite eighth, highlighting "313" and "Tonite" as upsides while conceding that "he [Eminem] sounds like he's emulating a style that would easily launch him out of the underground scene instead of creating his own". In a 2024 ranking of Eminem's 12 studio albums, Damien Scott of Billboard magazine placed Infinite 10th, concluding: "Infinite, when taken on its own, is an impressive work that probably would not have made a superstar out of Eminem. But when put with the rest of Em's albums, it gives great insight into the raw materials that went into making the man who would become Slim Shady."
