1997年5月这张新专辑出人意料地在日本首发，第二天，专辑在西班牙地区发行。一直到6月，才在全球上市。7月初登英国榜首位。这张惊世骇俗的唱片以绝对精彩的音乐和悲观厌烦的情绪，勾画了出上世纪90年代中最精彩的摇滚作品。它获得圈内的一致好评，1999年底赫然出现在众多媒体的20世纪十佳摇滚专辑评选之列。象首张单曲——6分半钟的 “Paranoid Android”(偏执狂机器人)编曲复杂、配乐多变，所表现出的演奏水平炉火纯青，一推出就登上英国榜的第三。Thom摒弃越来越完美的录音然而追求原始真实的声音理念。专辑是在女演员Jane Seymour所拥有的一座14世纪庄园别墅中(原属著名女医生Quinn博士)录制完成的，坐落于英格兰贝斯的这座孤零零的庄园里曾经也是接纳过这个Cure 乐队录制他们的专辑《Wild Mood Swings》(狂野摇摆)。歌曲的录制遍及这座西摩大厦里的每个角落，包括大舞厅和过廊走道。这种方式既创造了音乐演绎的独特经验，又糅合出陈旧而悠远的气氛。贝司手Colin Greenwood在《NME》的访谈中把最终的声音效果描述为“象石头般坚硬的Radiohead”。专辑标题最初设想为《Ones and Zeroes》(0和1)，最后发片时确定为《OK Computer》。 　　这张专辑在滚石杂志选出的500张历代最强专辑中排名第162位。 　　Using the textured soundscapes of The Bends as a launching pad, Radiohead delivered another startlingly accomplished set of modern guitar rock with OK Computer. The anthemic guitar heroics present on Pablo Honey and even The Bends are nowhere to be heard here. Radiohead have stripped away many of the obvious elements of guitar rock, creating music that is subtle and textured yet still has the feeling of rock & roll. Even at its most adventurous — such as the complex, multi-segmented "Paranoid Android" — the band is tight, melodic, and muscular, and Thom Yorke's voice effortlessly shifts from a sweet falsetto to vicious snarls. It's a thoroughly astonishing demonstration of musical virtuosity and becomes even more impressive with repeated listens, which reveal subtleties like electronica rhythms, eerie keyboards, odd time signatures, and complex syncopations. Yet all of this would simply be showmanship if the songs weren't strong in themselves, and OK Computer is filled with moody masterpieces, from the shimmering "Subterranean Homesick Alien" and the sighing "Karma Police" to the gothic crawl of "Exit Music (For a Film)." OK Computer is the album that establishes Radiohead as one of the most inventive and rewarding guitar rock bands of the '90s.