It placed twelfth on CBC's 50 Tracks, the second highest Beatles song on the list after "In My Life".
In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it at number 28 on the magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and in 2010, deemed it to be the Beatles' greatest song.
"A Day in the Life" was nominated for a Grammy in 1967 for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist or Instrumentalist.
Since 2008, McCartney has included the song in his live performances.
The Beach Boys were briefly seen as a serious rival to The Beatles. In a 1968 editorial for Jazz & Pop, writer Gene Sculatti called the former's single "Good Vibrations" the "ultimate in-studio production trip", adding that its influence was apparent in songs such as "A Day in the Life".