Current interest in the use of heteronuclear multidimensional NMR methods to assess the structures, conformations and/or dynamics of oligonucleotides in solution has created an immediate need for nucleosides and their derivatives labeled in various ways with stable isotopes (13C, 2H, 15N and/or 17,18O). This short review focuses exclusively on chemienzymic methods to introduce one or more 13C labels into D-ribose, a precursor to ribo- and 2'-deoxyribonucleosides. It will be demonstrated that five convenient reactions, applied in specific sequences, provide access to 26 of the 32 13C-labeled isotopomers of D-ribose in acceptable yields. While not explicitly discussed herein, these same reactions, appropriately modified, can also be used to insert one or more 2H and/or 17,18O isotopes into this aldopentose.