Described on McFerrin's website as "music for the 21st century",[4] the album took seven years to make with over 1,400 vocal tracks recorded by over 50 singers in order to form a "virtual choir".

Thom Jurek of AllMusic gave the album four and a half out of five stars, writing that it is "easily McFerrin’s finest moment on record as well as his most ambitious, and should win him some new fans even among cynics.

"[1] Mark F. Turner of All About Jazz gave the album five out of five stars, stating that it is McFerrin's "most challenging release to date" for his attempt to collaborate with 50 singers over seven years to create a virtual choir, with every song "defined by their playfulness and infectious rhythms, as well as their unique vocalizations and interplay.

John Eyles of the BBC emphasized that Vocabularies is not only Mcferrin's most ambitious project, "it is also one of the most complex albums ever constructed", and that "[t]he end result has that wow factor which signals an instant classic".

[5] Allan McFarlane of AudioEnz (StereoNET Australia) gave high praises for the album's "startling[ly]" unique arrangements and meticulous construction, writing that it is "as ambitious as it is successful, bringing three decades of experience and often experimental music making to this culmination of a lifetime[']s artistic endeavour.