John Wikane of PopMatters praised Harry's vocals on the song, writing, "She sings with a vocal power unknown to audiences, at the time, who were only familiar with the synthetic thrills on 'Heart of Glass. Jim Beviglia of American Songwriter praised the song's "poignancy" and stated, "Blondie's songs tend to be so much fun that's it's easy to overlook their depth and the craft behind them. Don't make that mistake with 'Dreaming,' or you might miss the hurting yet ultimately hopeful heart beating inside that pristine pop shell." Cash Box said it has "a pounding, chugging rhythm and Harry's distinctive 'girl-group' vocals" and more "pop power" than the Knack. Billboard called it a "a driving rocker that moves at rollercoaster intensity" and praised Debbie Harry's lead vocals as "clear and mesmerizing." Several critics have ranked "Dreaming" as one of Blondie's best songs. Billboard writers named "Dreaming" as the fourth best Blondie song, writing, "The feel-good, uplifting vibes of this power pop ballad still hold their influence today." Ultimate Classic Rock named it the band's fifth best song, stating, Dreaming' wraps everything Blondie did so well—girl-group bounce, big pop hook, the meshing of styles and eras—in the thickest battalion of drums and backing vocals they ever recorded." Far Out Magazine ranked the song as the band's sixth best, calling it "undeniably one of the band’s most underrated songs" and writing, "Harry and co. delivered a song which is a distillation of everything that made them great." uDiscoverMusic named the song as one of the top 20 Blondie songs. In 2021, it was listed at No. 414 on Rolling Stone's "Top 500 Best Songs of All Time" in 2021. Live performances "Dreaming" has become a staple of Blondie's live performances, being performed for a time as the second track in the band's setlist. Blondie notably performed the song live on Saturday Night Live in 1979, a performance that ended with Burke jumping over his drumset toward the camera. Burke later described the video of the performance as "awesome". Lead singer Debbie Harry performed a version of the song with the Dum Dum Girls at South by Southwest in 2014. Josh Terry of Consequence of Sound described the rendition as "woozy" and "upbeat". Cover versions The Smashing Pumpkins released a cover of "Dreaming" on their 1996 single "Bullet With Butterfly Wings." The song was also covered by Yo La Tengo for the new