When Word began issuing stereo albums in 1959, instead of making the numbers correspond to the numbers in the W-3000 series, they started a completely new series (WST-8000) with no corresponding numbers between the mono and stereo albums. To be fair, most of the major record labels did the same thing, but most other labels abandoned this confusing system within a year or two, if not a few months. Word, on the other hand, held out until 1965! At that point, there were so many mono-only albums that the stereo series had fallen more than one hundred numbers behind. When they finally switched to corresponding W-3xxx/WST-8xxx catalog numbers, there was a huge gap of numbers in the 8000 series which were never assigned.

The original stereo labels were red with silver print. These were later changed to black, like the mono releases. In the early-to-mid 1960s, Word reissued many of their early mono-only releases in rechanneled stereo. They indicated this by calling the rechanneled discs "Dual Channel" instead of "stereophonic".

We would appreciate any additions or corrections to this discography. Just send them to us via e-mail. Both Sides Now Publications is an information web page. We are not a catalog, nor can we provide the records listed below. We have no association with Word Records. Should you be interested in acquiring albums listed in this discography (all of which are out of print), we suggest you see our Frequently Asked Questions page and follow the instructions found there. This story and discography are copyright 2001 by Mike Callahan.