Stones Throw is the Los Angeles label that kept underground hip-hop weird, warm and endlessly sample-rich. It started as one man's record collection turned into a business and grew into the home of Madlib, J Dilla, MF DOOM, Anderson .Paak and a long list of producers who never sounded like anyone else. The label's records share a feel: dusty drums, soul and jazz in the bones, and a belief that an album can be a whole world.
This guide picks 10 essential Stones Throw albums in order of release, so you can follow the label from the late 1990s to now. It is a starting point, not a definitive list, and almost every record here opens a side door to ten more.
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The story in short
Stones Throw was founded by Chris Manak, better known as Peanut Butter Wolf, a bedroom DJ from San Jose, California. Its first release in 1996 was a single by Peanut Butter Wolf and his late friend and partner Charizma, and the name came from a saying of his mother's that the two teased her about. Manak has written that he puts out what he personally likes, and the label has stayed independent and personal ever since. You can read his own account on the Stones Throw history page.
1. Lootpack, Soundpieces: Da Antidote! (1999)
The Lootpack were Madlib, Wildchild and DJ Romes, a trio that had been together since high school. Peanut Butter Wolf heard their 1996 12-inch on college radio, tracked them down and signed them, according to the label. Soundpieces: Da Antidote! announced Madlib as one of hip-hop's major producers, with loose, jazzy beats and sharp rhymes that sound like a basement session.
2. Quasimoto, The Unseen (2000)
Quasimoto is Madlib's alter ego, a surreal rap character that the label compares to a talking dummy from a rap vaudeville show. Lord Quas is usually the bad character, saying what the producer would not. The Unseen is warped, funny and strangely tender, and it is the clearest window into how Madlib thinks. The Unseen on vinyl is still easy to find.
3. Jaylib, Champion Sound (2003)
Madlib and J Dilla traded beats across the country, with Dilla rapping over Madlib's tracks in Detroit and Madlib rapping over Dilla's in Los Angeles. The record that came from that exchange is a dream collaboration, full of rubbery drums and playful verses from two producers who rarely rapped. Champion Sound is the record where the label's two most beloved beatmakers meet.
4. Madvillain, Madvillainy (2004)
MF DOOM and Madlib met in 2002 and finished Madvillainy over the next year. The label says it went against the conventions of its day: short songs, a dirty sound and no choruses. DOOM's dense, twisting wordplay rides Madlib's collaged beats for 22 tracks in under 47 minutes, and it has stayed on best-ever lists since. Madvillainy on vinyl is a must for any collection, and the Madvillain page has the full story.
5. J Dilla, Donuts (2006)
Dilla made much of Donuts while in and out of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles. It was released on his birthday, February 7, 2006, and he died three days later, on February 10. The label called it a "rap album without rappers" and it has become one of the defining instrumental records ever made: 31 short beats, each flipping a soul or funk sample into something new. Donuts on vinyl is a rite of passage, and Stones Throw sells it directly.
6. Madlib, Beat Konducta Vol. 1-2 (2006)
The first volumes of the Beat Konducta series show how Madlib builds a record: a stream of short, hypnotic instrumentals drawn from film soundtracks, library music and obscure soul. It is background music that rewards close listening, and a good bridge for anyone moving from hip-hop into beat music.
7. Dam-Funk, Toeachizown (2009)
Damon "Dam-Funk" Riddick debuted on Stones Throw in 2008 and quickly became one of funk's most passionate advocates. His sprawling Toeachizown set is a stretch of synth bass, drum machine and Los Angeles night-drive grooves, with a feel for the funk of the early 1980s. Put it on when you want to drive with the windows down.
8. Peanut Butter Wolf, My Vinyl Weighs a Ton (2008)
The label's founder made his own album too, and it pulls in guests from across the Stones Throw circle. It shows the crate-digging ear behind everything on this list, and it is a good place to hear how one DJ's taste shaped a whole label.
9. NxWorries, Yes Lawd! (2016)
Anderson .Paak and the producer Knxwledge are NxWorries, and the project began with the song "Suede." By the time the album arrived in 2016 Paak was on his way to pop stardom, and Knxwledge had a Grammy for his work on Kendrick Lamar's To Pimp a Butterfly, as the label notes on its NxWorries page. Yes Lawd! is smooth, funny and soulful, with beats that glide. Yes Lawd! on vinyl is the one to put on at a party.
10. Sudan Archives, Athena (2019)
Violinist and vocalist Sudan Archives signed to Stones Throw in 2017. Self-taught and inspired by Sudanese fiddlers, she folds violin loops into R&B, experimental electronic music and beat-making on Athena. It shows how far the label's range goes beyond sample-based hip-hop, and her label page tells her story.
How to collect Stones Throw
Stones Throw has always cared about vinyl. Manak wrote that he was committed to releasing LPs and instrumental versions because artists should be able to play a show from vinyl and DJs ask for them. That means most of the catalog is still pressed, often in colored editions. Pair your records with the gear in our best turntables for beginners guide, keep them clean with our record care guide, and see gifts for vinyl collectors for more ideas. If jazz is more your speed, our Blue Note starter guide covers the label that inspired so many of these producers.
More in our vinyl hub.
