 Rings Around the World received praise from critics with a score of 86 on Metacritic, denoting "universal acclaim". Brent DiCrescenzo of Pitchfork Media stated that the album's combination of "paisley, sun-heated, and layered" music with Gruff Rhys's "satirical and heartfelt lyrics" makes it "timeless" and the band's best record. Adrian Begrand of PopMatters called the record "near-perfect" and wrote that "we should be thankful there are bands out there willing to throw everything they've got into a record just to see what happens". Uncut praised its "accessible and adventurous" nature, while The Independent opined that Rings Around the World "represents a quantum jump beyond the Furries'previous work" and described it as "one of the year's most engrossing – and, crucially, most entertaining – albums". Mojo stated that Rings Around the World was the band's "first truly flawless album" and later named it the best album of 2001. Tiny Mix Tapes called Rings Around the World "one of the, if not the, best releases of 2002", describing it as a "mixture of sugar pop of yesteryear and modern Britpop" resulting in a "near perfect" album. Rings Around the World was later nominated for 2001's Mercury Music Prize.
