As you may or may not know, I am not usually one for spoilers. While I don’t mind knowing who is going to guest star on How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory, I REALLY don’t want to know what’s happening next on Dexter or Friday Night Lights, or who’s getting kicked off Project Runway.

Similarly, I have enjoyed all the surprises of Glee so far this season. This includes both plot lines (Rachel and Puck? Brilliant!) and the songs they perform. While I knew that Kristen Chenoweth was going to be on the show at some point, I didn’t know when, and seeing her show up and sing a dueling pianos version of “Maybe This Time” with Rachel was a major thrill.

With that in mind – today the first volume of the Glee soundtrack was released, and so of COURSE I went to get it on my lunch break. I figured that it would just have the songs from the first half of the season – i.e. what we’ve already seen. It did – along with two extras that I assume we’ll hear sometime this month. While I’m disappointed about being a little spoiled, the tracks are so good, they pretty much make up for ruining the surprise.

SPOILERS BELOW ON THE LAST TWO TRACKS!!!

First up is Artie (Kevin McHale) finally getting his solo, “Dancing With Myself.” I actually really like McHale’s voice – die-hard Glee fans may know he used to be in a boy band, and it shows here. (But in a good way.)

But the real surprise of the album is hearing Rachel (Lea Michelle) and Kurt (Chris Colfer) duet on an amazing, chill-inducing version of “Defying Gravity.” I admit, I did hear this was happening, but kind of forgot about it, and was totally knocked out when I heard it. I had to stop what I was doing and just listen. It’s that good. Granted, I’m a huge fan of Wicked, so I was predisposed to like it. But still – I’d forgotten what a beautiful voice Colfer had – we haven’t really heard him sing since the pilot’s “Mr. Cellophane.” I know Rachel is supposed to have the best voice out of the group, but I think Kurt’s going to give her a run for her money. I can’t wait to see how this plays out on the show.

Here it is, for those who don’t want to wait for next week.

Overall, the album is great. It has all the favorites, including “Don’t Stop Believin'”, “Bust Your Windows”, “Alone”, “Somebody to Love”, “Sweet Caroline”, and “Keep Holding On.” (As a side note – I had forgotten how beautifully they did “Keep Holding On.” I may have gotten teary on first listen. Let’s just say, thank goodness my cubical is mostly hidden from the rest of the office.) My only regret is that they didn’t put own some of my favorites from the season so far, such as “Poison”, “This is How We Do It”  and “I Could Have Danced All Night.” (What can I say, I’m a sucker for those Accafellas.) Maybe they’ll show up in Volume II? According to the insert that came with my CD, that will be in stores next month, Dec. 8th.