publications, the album received an average score of 90, based on six reviews. AllMusic's Andy Kellman called it "a rare lean, focused album where the in-the-red moments are just as effective as the twilight ballads", while Jason Heller of The A.V. Club said the record was "twice as raw and thrice as hungry as anything the neo-soul mastermind has previously released ... a full-throated, full-throttle challenge". Writing for WBEZ, Jim DeRogatis called it "as joyful, free-ranging, and wildly inventive a psychedelic-soul classic as any you can name", writing that Hunt's compositions make "even the wildest, most genre-defying flights of fancy ... instantly accessible and equally stimulating to brain and booty." Chicago Tribune critic Greg Kot dubbed it Hunt's "most adventurous album yet" because he "stretches the parameters of R&B with a refreshing lack of self-consciousness ... His craftsmanship never devolves into shtick." Kot later named it the fourth-best album of 2011 and wrote that although it is musically varied, "the glue is Hunt's acuity as a songwriter; he knows how to drop hooks and turn a smart phrase, and this album brims with surprises." Some reviewers were more reserved in their praise. Michael Tedder from Paste felt that Hunt "sometimes comes off a bit like he's exploring the idea of a genre more than actually writing a song", while citing drummer Ruth Price as the record's "the secret weapon". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times called it "a messy album, sometimes thrillingly so, a mélange of psychedelic rock, punk energy and R&B desperation", and Tom Hull said Hunt "tries to regroup here with jerky rhythms, odd time signatures, and odder lyrics, which do add something." Despite the critical acclaim, the album received some backlash from Hunt's fanbase and listeners for departing from the style of his previous records. He addressed the criticism in an interview for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Commercially, What You Were Hoping For? peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Albums – a weekly music chart that ranks top-selling albums by new or developing acts, defined as those who have never appeared in the top 100 of the Billboard 200 or in the top 10 of Billboards component charts. The album also reached number 50 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Track listing All songs were written, arranged, and produced by Van Hunt. Personnel Credits for What Were You Hoping For? adapted from Allmusic.