Get Off on the Pain

Get Off on the Pain debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard Top Country Albums and number five on the U.S. Billboard 200, selling 65,000 copies in its first week of release.[5] In its second week of release, the album dropped to number sixteen on the Billboard 200 selling 24,341 copies.[6] In its third week of release, the album dropped to number twenty-four on the Billboard 200 selling 15,555 copies.[7] As of August 2010, the album sold 200,395 copies in the U.S.[8]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[9]
American Songwriter	[10]
Billboard	(favorable)[11]
Country Weekly	[12]
The New York Times	(favorable)[13]
PopMatters	[14]
Roughstock	[15]
Slant Magazine	[16]
The Washington Post	(favorable)[17]

Upon its release, Get Off on the Pain received generally positive reviews from most music critics.[18] At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 84, based on 5 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[18]

Giving it four stars out of five, Country Weekly reviewer Jessica Phillips said that the album "reveal[s] an even more authentic, intense layer" of Allan's personality. She wrote that the title track "sets the stage" for the rest of the album, but thought that "Kiss Me When I'm Down" had weak lyrics.[12] Allmusic critic Todd Sterling also gave a four-star rating, saying that "Get Off on the Pain is a well-crafted, ten-song collection that, to steal a well-worn phrase, is all killer and no filler" and referred to it as his best album, saying it "will likely go down as one of the best albums of his career".[9]

Matt Bjorke with Roughstock praised the production of the album, saying "The production of the record is killer and serves to enhance everything that makes Gary Allan one of country music’s true gems" and called it one of the years best country albums, saying "IF there’s an artist recording mainstream country records who is as real as Gary Allan, I have yet to see them and if you like authentic, yet modern, country music then Get Off On The Pain is just about as good an album as you’re likely to find this year or any year".[15] Jon Caramanica with The New York Times positively compared Allan to Johnny Cash with the release, and called the years best country album, saying "[Get Off on the Pain] is the year’s best country album so far, almost as brilliantly anguished as Mr. Allan’s 2003 masterpiece, See If I Care."[13] Bill Friskics-Warren with The Washington Post called the album "terrific" saying "Allan's by turns gruff and tender vocals nevertheless are undeniably country, as is the stolid resilience with which he confronts heartache".[17]

Jim Malec with American Songwriter gave the album a 4 ½ rating, lauding the songwriting on the release, calling it "eternally substantive" saying "... he breathes a fresh layer of depth and realism into what might otherwise be well-worn stories".[10] He also acclaimed the honesty of the album, saying "Get Off On the Pain may not be the world’s most uplifting listening experience, but what it lacks in cheer it makes up in truth. For fans who appreciate outstanding country music that deals with real issues, that fact may just make the album’s title a perfectly appropriate statement".[10] Slant Magazine critic Jonathan Keefe also praised Allan's vocal performance on the album, calling Allan "a singer of real grit and depth". He also remarked that the album is "the most consistent set of songs Allan has yet recorded", and rated the album with four stars out of five.[16] Cody Miller with PopMatters gave it an eight star rating saying it was "contender for year’s end best of list; insightful and rare look into a singer’s psyche, a collection of top-grade Country music or soulful purging. All of them apply, and then some".[14]

Jon Caramanica with The New York Times placed the album at number six on his "top 10 albums of 2010" saying "Six years after his wife’s death, Mr. Allan has made music to match the hurt. This country singer had a broken voice long before this album, and a sure way with an aching lyric, but here, optimism appears to have been filtered out, leaving only shadows, where Mr. Allan thrives.[19]