The Topshelf label has just issued a sampler LP that would be a true shelf-toppler if it were on disks and not conveniently digital-only. Sixty-eight tracks! From not only Topshelf signees but, quoth a press release, “friends and bands the label thinks you ought to check out.” The variety, and the volume, can be overwhelming, from indie wisps to hardcore onslaughts. Among the stand-outs for my discriminating ears: Duck, Little Brother’s jangly emo “Steve Jobs (All is Fun Until Someone Gets Stabbed), Everyone Everywhere’s unabashedly poppy “I Feel Fine,” The Guru’s strikingly clean and well-played funk “Reel It In,” Bozmo’s propulsive new-wavery “Milksnakes” (with its terrifying blasé declaration that “You’re in middle school for life”)—and literally dozens of others.

Here in New Haven, Connecticut, the Peabody, Mass.-based Topshelf is revered for distributing Fuck Off All Nerds, the benefit album (available here http://topshelfrecords.bigcartel.com/product/fuck-off-all-nerds-single-lp) put together in the wake of the home-invasion murder of New Haven scenester Mitch Dubey.

Only two bands—Into It. Over It. and My Heart to Joy—appear on both Fuck Off All Nerds and the new Topshelf comp, making the sampler a real introductory feast even for those already acquainted with the label.

The sampler’s free from http://tpshlf.co/tsr2011, as long as you deign to “friend” the comp or tweet its importance.