Lipshutz stated, “Adele’s noticeable leap in vocal confidence highlights the observe. She gracefully lingers on the final line of the verses and assaults the sad refrain’ first phrases, ‘We might have had all of it,’ head on.” Rolling Stone journal’s Barry Walters said, “‘Rolling within the Deep’ finds the 22-year-old in bluesy gospel mode, sounding highly effective however not notably pop. Beginning with a stroked acoustic guitar, this breakup-mourning observe builds to a stomping, hand-clapping climax that affirms the British knack for rejiggering the sound of American roots music.”
The writers of Rolling Stone positioned “Rolling within the Deep” at primary on their checklist of “50 Finest Singles of 2011”. Claire Suddath of Time journal named “Rolling within the Deep” one of many Prime 10 Songs of 2011. MTV selected the track as their “Tune of the 12 months”. The Village Voice’s Pazz & Jop annual critics’ ballot ranked “Rolling within the Deep” as the highest single of 2011. In 2019, Rolling Stone.