The Drew Carey Show premiered in 1995 and soon become known for its elaborate song and dance numbers, which were developed in a bid to increase ratings.

[2] The album consists of 24 tracks by artists such as Joe Walsh, Little Richard and Iggy Pop, as well as songs sung by Drew Carey.

[5] Sears thought the tracks performed by the cast were "priceless" and called Carey's version of "High Hopes" a "meek rendition".

[5] AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine also gave the album three stars and said, "In short, it's almost everything a Drew Carey fan could want (even though a version of "A Taste of Honey" would have been nice), and it certainly evokes the nutty charm of the show.

[11] Buckley dubbed the album "a dream come true" for fans of the show, but added that general music lovers would also enjoy it.

[11] Nicole E. Rogers, writing for The Wisconsin State Journal, thought the album was better than some of the other TV soundtracks released around the same time, as the music was actually relevant to the show.