Sly & The Family Stone Vinyl Records

Sly & The Family Stone invented modern funk. The San Francisco band's mixed-race, mixed-gender lineup and Sly Stone's writing — bringing rock energy, gospel arrangements and the still-emerging funk groove together — produced the records that George Clinton, Prince and a half-century of subsequent black popular music would build on. Stand! and the darker There's a Riot Goin' On are the unmissable peaks.

The vinyl pressings of the Epic-era catalogue are reference-quality on the recent Speakers Corner and Mobile Fidelity reissues. There's a Riot Goin' On in particular — recorded onto already-saturated tape, with layers of bass and Wurlitzer — benefits enormously from LP playback.

Best Sly & The Family Stone Albums on Vinyl

There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)
— The bleak, hazy, masterpiece. "Family Affair", "Runnin' Away". The pivot from the optimistic Stand! into the heroin-era darkness.

Stand! (1969)
— Their commercial peak. "Everyday People", "I Want to Take You Higher", "Sing a Simple Song".

Fresh (1973)
— The recovery record. "If You Want Me to Stay", "In Time". Lighter than Riot but with the same rhythmic invention.

Dance to the Music (1968)
— The breakthrough. The title track, "I Ain't Got Nobody", "Higher".

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Experimental / Avant GardeSoul, Funk & R&B