Like all genres, funk was a byproduct of circumstance. Not in the accidental sense of the word, but in the sense that art shapes and conforms to the context of the moment. For James Brown, funk was a divorce from the soul sound—and the band—that made him. For George Clinton, it was a fresh start after losing a legal battle and finding LSD. And for Sly Stone it was a reflection of the times and his soul: joyful and optimistic through the ‘60s, cynical and melancholic as the decade turned.Starting in the mid-1960s, these progenitors of funk took soul, jazz, and R&B and stripped them to their essential components. By varying tempo, meter, and instrumentation, they morphed stale song structures into cyclic grooves powered by bass, rhythm guitar, drums, horns and later, synth. Sometimes comical, biting, and other-worldly at the same time, funk is music at its most guttural and exciting potential.While it’s popularity waned in the mid-to-late ’70s, funk never truly died. Rick James and Prince shocked it back to life in the ’80s with synths and swag. And by the ’90s, it could be heard everywhere from the sample-heavy hip-hop of Dr. Dre to Red Hot Chili Peppers’ bass lines. To this day, the groove that funk started continues to drive hits for the likes of Maroon 5 and Bruno Mars, as well as an entire Childish Gambino album.The albums below each showcase a different flavor of funk. Some will make you dance, some will make you think, but they will all put a smile on your face at least once. These are 10 of the best funk albums to own on vinyl.