Life's Too Good was released to largely positive reviews, receiving acclaim from the British and American press. The album is considered a definite influence on all subsequent Icelandic popular music, and on international acts such as Savages and Florence and the Machine. The album helped in regarding the Sugarcubes as "the biggest rock band to emerge from Iceland." "Coldsweat" was covered by the industrial rock band Diatribe on the 1993 album Shut Up Kitty: A Cyber-Based Covers Compilation. In 2025, Radio X included the album in its list of "The 25 best indie debut albums of the 1980s".
Accolades
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+Accolades for Life's Too Good
!Publication
!Country
!Accolade
!Year
!Rank
|-
!scope="row"|Best
|rowspan=3|France
|Albums of the Year
| 1988
| style="text-align:center;"|10
|-
!scope="row"|Christophe Brault
|Top 20 Albums by Year 1964–2004
| 2006
| style="text-align:center;"|15
|-
!scope="row"|Gilles Verlant
|300+ Best Albums in the History of Rock
| 2013
| style="text-align:center;"|*
|-
!scope="row"|Musik Express/Sounds
|rowspan=2|Germany
|Albums of the Year
| 1988
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
!scope="row"|RoRoRo Rock-Lexicon
|Most Recommended Albums
|2003
| style="text-align:center;"|*
|-
!scope="row"|OOR
|Netherlands
|rowspan=2|Albums of the Year
|rowspan=6|1988
| style="text-align:center;"|24
|-
!scope="row"|Rock de Lux
|Spain
| style="text-align:center;"|19
|-
!scope="row"|Melody Maker
|rowspan=4|United Kingdom
|Albums of the Year
| style="text-align:center;"|2
|-
!scope="row"|NME
|Albums of the Year
| style="text-align:center;"|13
|-
!scope="row"|Q
|rowspan=2|Albums of the Year
| style="text-align:center;"|*
|-
!scope="row"|Sounds
| style="text-align:center;"|11
|-
!scope="row"|Robert Dimery
|rowspan=4|United States
|1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die
|2005
| style="text-align:center;"|*
|-
!scope="row"|KCPR
|Top 100 Records from the 80s
|2002
| style="text-align:center;"|35
|-
!scope="row"|Treble
|The Best Albums of the 80s, by Year
|2006
| style="text-align:center;"|5
|-
!scope="row"|The Village Voice
|Albums of the Year
|1988
| style="text-align:center;"|35
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align:center; font-size:85%"| (*) designates lists that are unordered.
|}
Track listing
Personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of Life's Too Good.
The Sugarcubes
- Bragi Ólafsson – bass
- Sigtryggur Baldursson – drums
- Þór Eldon – guitar
- Björk Guðmundsdóttir – vocals, keyboard
- Einar Örn Benediktsson – vocals, trumpet
Additional personnel
- Engineering – Brian Pugsley, Gail Lambourne, Gerard Johnson, Ken Thomas, Kjartan Kjartansson, Mel Jefferson
- Production – Derek Birkett and Ray Shulman
- Sleeve – Paul White
- Copyright – One Little Indian Records
- Publishing – Second Wind
- Design – Me Company
- Distribution – The Cartel
Charts
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+Chart performance for Life's Too Good
!Chart (1988)
!Peak<br />position
|-
!scope="row"|Australian Albums Chart
|align="center"| 64
|-
!scope="row"|UK Albums Chart
|align="center"| 14
|-
!scope="row"|UK Indie Albums Chart
|align="center"| 1
|-
!scope="row"|US Billboard 200
|align="center"| 54
|}
Sales
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|+ Sales for Life's Too Good
|-
! scope="col"| Region
! scope="col"| Sales
|-
! scope="row"| United States
| 500,000
|-
! scope="row"| Worldwide
| 1,000,000