[4] From contemporary reviews, Chairman Mao of Vibe praised certain tracks such as Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five's "Freedom" and "It's Nasty (Genius of Love)" along with Funky 4+1's "That's the Joint" as well as Spoonie G's "Monster Jam" and "The Adventures of Grandmaster Flash on the Wheels of Steel" Mao noted that Treacherous Three's tracks such as "Whip It", and Sugarhill Gang's "The Lover in You" and "Girls" would have better been replaced with "such glaring omissions as " Treacherous superior "Action" and Trouble Funk's "Pump Me Up".

[7] The review concluded that "despite its excesses [the album] assembles enough moments to merit the attention to the uninitiated and those want to reminisce over consummate party grooves past.

"[6] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the compilation a five-star review, noting that Sugar Hill Records music "remaining out of print during the rise of the hip-hop during the late '80s and '90s.

The five-disc Sugar Hill Records Story remedies this situation" but that the "true revelation of the box set is how strong largely forgotten cuts by Spoonie Gee, the Funky 4 + 1, Trouble Funk, the Sequence, Super Wolf, and West Street Mob are -- these are supremely funky, infectious and inventive cuts, which have been made familiar through samples and quotations on modern rap records.

"[1] Erlewine noted that "There is the occasional dull spot or oddity (check out the bizarre B-52's rip-off "At the Ice Arcade" by the Chilly Kids) that interrupts the flow, but the music is consistently strong, even on the fifth disc.