Albion's impressive unbeaten league run finally came to an end as the Sons snatched all three points after a fiery and frenetic five-goal thriller which saw the Binos battle back from two down only to lose out to Iain Russell's second goal of the afternoon.
The visitors dominated early on, and it was against the run of play that Dumbarton took the lead courtesy of some poor defending as Russell was left unmarked at the back post to nod home Chris Boyle's corner kick.
Stirling boss Allan Moore won't be too pleased about the Sons' second strike either, John Gemmell's low free-kick from the edge of the box going straight through the defensive wall and past Myles Hogarth.
Stirling grabbed a lifeline right on half-time when Chris Aitken curled a free-kick high into the net, and when full-back Stewart Devine levelled things just after the hour with a strike from an acute angle it seemed Albion could go on to victory against a Dumbarton side lacking six players through injury and suspension.
But some more slack marking allowed Russell to guide home Scott Bannerman's corner 15 minutes from time, and despite a frantic finish by the visitors in which substitute Robert Dunn struck a post it was the home side who held on for victory.