Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1

In the summer of 2014, a cassette full of 1970s AM-radio castoffs became the biggest album in America. Released that July, the Awesome Mix debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and climbed to the top spot in its second week on 109,000 copies sold, becoming the first soundtrack made up entirely of previously released songs to ever top the chart. What kept it from feeling like a gimmick is that it isn't one. The tape is a plot device, the last thing Peter Quill carries off Earth, and the film treats every song on it like a keepsake.

The twelve tracks are sequenced for pure momentum. Blue Swede's "Hooked on a Feeling" and Redbone's "Come and Get Your Love" set the tone, and from there it runs through David Bowie's "Moonage Daydream," the Jackson 5's "I Want You Back," Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell's "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," 10cc's "I'm Not in Love," and the Runaways' "Cherry Bomb." Deep cuts sit next to wedding-reception staples with no apology, which is exactly how a real mixtape works.

The commercial run was extraordinary. The album went platinum, held No. 1 on the soundtrack chart for eleven consecutive weeks and sixteen in total, and had moved more than 1.75 million copies in the States by 2017. It also rewired how studios think about catalog music, handing a whole generation a starter pack of songs their parents had long since stopped playing.

This single-LP edition from Hollywood Records collects all twelve tracks in album order. One of the few soundtracks that genuinely earns a spot in the racks next to the originals.