Songs
Music Aloud rated the album 9 out of 10 and wrote, "The A R Rahman-Imtiaz Ali-Irshad Kamil team delivers yet another musical treat! Totally worth the wait".[22] At Koimoi, Manohar Basu wrote, "For all those who had thought Rahman was losing his Midas touch, well he is back with a bang! The songs in this album are mixed – some you'll take an instant liking for and the rest just grow on you. But each of its numbers is so intoxicating that I promise you will have one hell of a hard time to get these songs off a loop." He rated the album 4 out of 5 and called it 'exemplary'.[23] Indo-Asian News Service gave the album 4 out of 5 stars and wrote, "All in all, the songs of Highway will take music lovers to a different level – it's very powerful and magical."[24] The Critical Review Board at Behindwoods.com in its review said, "A timeless soundtrack crafted for the road !", giving the album a score of 3.75 out of 5.[25] Critic Pawan Jha for the BBC World Service stated, "Another winner from A. R. Rahman and Irshad Kamil" and gave it 3.5 out of 5.[26] Critic Rajiv Vijayakar of Bollywood Hungama stated, "This is a decent A.R. Rahman score after a long gap, in the sense that it will appeal even to those who are not hardcore fans of the composer and his musical grammar (and composition!)." Rating the soundtrack 3 out of 5, he added, "However, for sheer mass connectivity, we still miss the excellence of Ali's Jab We Met and Love Aaj Kal. Those were soundtracks that made the director's films get initial as well as repeat value!" CanIndia News summarised the album stating:

"With offbeat lyrics, brilliant music, and a powerful mix of tracks, this album is ready to take over the charts for a very, very long time. It's as if A.R. Rahman has transmitted all his magic into one album. The album gives you precisely what is expected out of A.R. Rahman's music, if not more. Absolutely mind-blowing and soulful.[27]

Joginder Tuteja for Rediff wrote, "Of all Imtiaz Ali films to date, the music of Highway is the most experimental." Assigning the album a score of 3 out of 5, he added, "In fact, it is obvious that Imtiaz and Rahman were concentrating more on a theme-based soundtrack that seeps into the narrative, rather than the kind that turns out to be a chartbuster and popular in itself."[28] Critic Baradwaj Rangan summarised the album as, "AR Rahman's songs for Highway aren't exactly groundbreaking – and no, that's not an unjustified expectation when it comes to this composer."[29]