"[2] Parton told The National Post that the album inspired in part by such disparate world problems as the Japanese tsunami, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East and America's economic crisis".

[7] Parton has already begun promotion of the tour and album, including across the BBC and ITV in the United Kingdom in April 2011.

[12] "The Sacrifice" was released as the album's second and final single, and a music video was created using live footage from Parton's Better Day World Tour.

[17] Elysa Gardner of USA Today gave Better Day three out of four stars, and wrote "this age-defying country girl, with her resilient soprano and infectious pluck, seems incapable of a truly false note.

"[16] Tucker added to this, with his review for NPR's Fresh Air, stating, "There's a sincere and earnest quality to this music that enables it to stand apart from so much of the trumped-up emotionalism and cheesy irony of the pop-music world all around it.

"[23] In a favorable review, Billboard's Phil Gallo exclaimed, "The album's dozen story songs [..] are filled with uplifting sentiment and words of encouragement set against a variety of backdrops, most of them deeply rooted in country traditions rather than acquiescing to radio demands", and claimed that the album's mid-tempo songs, "leap out and beg to be played on the radio.

[18] Holly Gleason of Paste Magazine stated that Parton, "juxtaposes superstardom with her down-home comfort zone" and continued that the album is a "pop-country gem that empowers as it punches country radio’s clichés with a freshness".

The Washington Post's Allison Stewart stated that Better Day is a "restless jumble of styles weighted toward mainstream country", and that the album "is only as great as it needs to be".

[22] Carla Gillis of NOW panned the album's "eye-rolling Dollyisms", but complimented that Parton's vocals were "as strong, clear and distinct as ever.