Brown co-wrote all but one track on the album. In advance of the album, the tracks "Homesick", "Short Skirt Weather", and "Good as You" were released digitally.[2] "Lose It" was the album's first radio single.[3]Dann Huff, who co-produced Brown's debut album, is also the producer on Experiment. Brown said that he wanted to introduce new sounds on the album and introduce "more energy" to his style.[3] "American Bad Dream" is a song that Brown wrote about the 2017 Las Vegas shooting. Brown said that he took inspiration from his grandmother, who was a police detective.[4]
Giving it 4 out of 5 stars, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found Brown's singing and songwriting superior to his 2016 debut album, while also noting influences of contemporary R&B and arena rock.[5]Rolling Stone reviewer Maura Johnston rated it 3.5 out of 5 stars, highlighting "American Bad Dream" as the "emotional center" while also noting the variety of musical influences and the "confidence" in Brown's delivery.[6]
Experiment debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with 124,000 album-equivalent units (including 105,000 pure album sales), making it Brown's first US number-one album, and the third country album to top the chart in 2018.[7] The album was certified Gold by the RIAA on March 18, 2019, and Platinum on March 17, 2020.[8] As of March 2020, the album has sold 242,400 copies,[9] with 886,000 units in combined sales, tracks and streams consumed in the United States.[10]
