[2] According to Isley: "The first time I played it after I had initially written the song was for my brother Rudolph, just voice and guitar.
[5] Aaliyah covered the song for her debut studio album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number (1994).
At one point The Isley Brothers catalog saw an increase in popularity among the Hip Hop community.
[3][11] Ann Powers from NPR noted that "As the arrangement unfolds, satin, around her, she takes in each phrase and makes the listener consider it, moving slowly and deliberately, as if she's explaining something".
[3] According to Rolling Stone writer Mosi Reeves, "she sings with grace, before offering a wordless cry with incandescent softness".
[11] Tonya Pendleton from The Washington Post noted that though her voice is soft, "her diction is clear, and each word resonates with feeling" on the song.
[12] The "Gangstar Child Remix", which was released as the single has a "bass-heavy G-funk beat", and it features various murmured interjections from Kelly.
[11][3] For the remix, Aaliyah sings with newly alternate vocals, "that’s more restrained than the version on her debut, Age Ain’t Nothin’ But a Number".
"[14] Adding that "Aaliyah continues to exhibit a warm and soulful style that belies her teen-age years."
He noted that R. Kelly "does an excellent job of blending a raw street groove with a lush R&B melody and layers of sweet vocals.
[16] In his weekly UK chart commentary, James Masterton wrote, "Her second hit is in essence a beauty, a sparse but haunting rendition of an old Isley Brothers track, first written and recorded before she was even born.
"[18] Tee's colleague Alan Jones gave it three out of five, adding that "this pretty Isley Brothers ballad is played on traditional instruments, and is sung by the striking young R Kelly protege in intimate and breathily pure style.
"[19] MTV.com felt that "(At Your Best) You Are Love" was one of the album's highlights, along with "Young Nation," "Age Ain't Nothing But A Number" and "Down With The Clique.
"[20] In a retrospective review, Cydney Lee from Billboard praised Aaliyah's vocal delivery on the song and felt that she maintained the original song's "depth with a sense of maturity and grace that defined her emerging class of young R&B stars, like Brandy and Monica, at the time.
"[21] In a Rolling Stone interview discussing Aaliyah and the songs legacy, Ernie Isley praised her cover.
There was one that had a little bit more hip-hop feel in the music, then there was the first one that was similar to the Isley Brother version, but either way, she made the song hers".
[25] Internationally, the song reached the top 40 in several countries, including The Netherlands, where it peaked at number 40 on November 11.