“Drawing on the grandfathered styles of the Mills Brothers and the Ink Spots … these quartets and quintets added in a little gospel plus a slight dose of the old jump blues and hooked themselves to the rock & roll train as it flew past. In time, the grittier R&B roots were smoothed out for the teen market, and doo wop … was well on its way…. This three-disc set spreads its net fairly wide to include some early Motown acts as well as groups like the Platters and the Drifters, who are probably closer to mainstream R&B than they are to doo wop proper…. Either way, the end result is an impressive starter box for the genre.”—All Music Guide