[1] Boys in the Trees became one of Simon's biggest selling albums, and was officially certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 7, 1978, for sales of over one million copies in the United States alone.

[2] Janet Maslin, writing in Rolling Stone, stated "Boys in the Trees is Carly Simon's most serene accomplishment to date, but its moods vary dramatically enough to indicate that peace of mind comes at a high price."

When praising the single "You Belong to Me", Maslin went on to write, "It's a number that could easily have been belted out or growled à la "You're So Vain", but this time Simon prefers to sound more like a cat who's been dining on canary.

"[6] In a retrospective review for AllMusic, William Ruhlmann wrote that "what really made the album a winner was that Simon had had a couple of years to write some strong songs in her unflinching, reflective style, and she continued to explore the loves and mores of her age and class movingly.

"[3] Cash Box said of the single "Tranquillo (Melt My Heart)" that a "funky arrangement of guitars, horns and strings follow a stepping beat" and praised Simon's "clean" vocal.