I haven't heard any of their subsequent albums (although I am sure I will do so too) so I can't comment on this album's position in the heritage of Steely Dan, but I do know that I enjoyed it very much, even if it took a few listens to fully appreciate.
Can't Buy A Thrill was actually given to me by my Irish friend as a Christmas present with the recommendation to listen to Reelin' In The Years as it was Jimmy Page's favourite guitar solo, but it was the first four tracks and 'Changing of the Guard' which hit me first as quality songs, an interesting mixture of rock and jazz with some great guitar work in there as well. I'm sure I'll invest in more Steely Dan in the near future, but this will rank among my favourite albums for a while.

oscar is right, Steely Dan peaked on their first outing in terms of songwriting and recording something original and fresh. Each subsequent disc contained a little more polish and professionalism until they became virtual elevator music. At the outset, when they truly were a band but became a vehicle for the songwriting and quasi jazz leanings of Becker and Fagan. The first album is the only one to feature vocalist Brian Palmer (?) and includes their strongest singles Reeling in the Years and Do it again, to tracks that could appear on radio today and sound fresh.

To me, they peaked early: each subsequent album was a little worse than the one before it, and while Donald Fagen was a great lyricist, I got a little tired of his voice after a while. " Do It Again" and " Reelin' In the Years" are songs I am absolutely sick of." "Dirty Work," a clever song about a guy reluctantly screwing a bored, adulterous rich woman was really good and it's hard to get sick of it." Kings," a kind of anti Nixon/ pro the mythological Kennedy number was also very good and " Only A Fool Would Say That" was a vicious but accurate putdown of hippie naivete. The band plays with fire on this record, and it's a shame that later on they sacrificed that fire for technically perfect but lifeless and bland mergers of light jazz and pop with r&b influenced music.