First off the soundtrack lives up to its name. It plays very powerfully in the movie and stands up to multiple listens in the real world. It's been the only thing on in the CD player in my car lately. So not only is it a great set list that plays well in sequence but it does something else that's pretty interesting: it connects you to main character Peter Quill aka Star-Lord. I listen to these songs and imagine a person with only these songs to listen to. You have slower more melancholy songs that I imagine a teenage Peter Quill playing over and over again when he missed home or after a yelling at by Yondu. There are harder songs I can imagine he played to get amped up before a confrontation as a Ravager. Songs he played when entering atmosphere on a planet and songs he played when trying to romance a lady alien. More than anything it connects you to that character and by listening to it you can empathize and imagine yourself there, living his life, listening to the same songs he listens too. It makes it so much more than a collection of music used for a fancy moving picture. Now that that's out of the way let's get to the analysis.
