‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ soundtrack shoots to No. 1 on Billboard 200

Score another one for the veterans.

After last week’s strong chart showing by Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers and Eric Clapton, the oldies-dominated soundtrack of “Guardians of the Galaxy” took the top spot Wednesday on the Billboard 200.

The 12-track album, which features vintage hits such as Norman Greenbaum’s “Spirit in the Sky” and 10cc’s “I’m Not in Love,” sold 109,000 copies in the week that ended Aug. 10, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That total was up 83% over the previous week, a boost almost certainly attributable to the superhero movie’s blockbuster opening over the weekend of Aug. 1-3. (The “Guardians” album, subtitled “Awesome Mix Vol. 1,” came out before the film, on July 29.)

As Billboard’s Keith Caulfield noted, the No. 1 showing follows the huge success of another soundtrack from the Disney Music Group: “Frozen,” which has sold over 3 million copies since its release in November. Unlike “Frozen,” though, “Guardians of the Galaxy” consists entirely of previously released songs -- the first such soundtrack to top the chart, Caulfield said.

Yet “Guardians” wasn’t the only set of familiar tunes to fare well on this week’s tally. At No. 2 with sales of 94,000 copies is “Now 51,” the latest installment in the “Now That’s What I Call Music!” series of hit compilations.

Other new albums entering the chart include Godsmack’s “1000HP” at No. 3, Spoon’s “They Want My Soul” at No. 4 and the Vamps’ “Somebody to You” at No. 10.

Twitter: @mikaelwood