Ninja Tune rose up in the early ’90s as the U.K.’s acid-jazz/trip-hop explosion was just beginning, but unlike most other labels specializing in that sound, its records never garnered much airplay in boutiques and trendy restaurants: Most of its releases were too edgy or just too weird to lull people into the proper hypnotic spend-money state. It was also a lot more varied than the others, with inventive artists like Coldcut’s Matt Black and Jonathan More (who run the label), stoner-funk producer Funki Porcini and the goofy Mr. Scruff pushing the jazzy-breakbeat paradigm about as far as it could go. This massive collection, stuffed with 49 tracks of older material, unreleased cuts and outtakes from both the main label and its Big Dada and Counter imprints, displays the sheer scope of Ninja Tune’s output. Given that range (and that length), it’s a tribute to Black, More & Co’s A&R skills that the compilation rarely falls flat.

Four tracks leading off one of the album’s three discs nicely illustrate the Ninja Tune’s ethos. Modeselektor’s jittery and ominous electro remix of Ghislain Poirier’s “Blazin’ ” segues into the claustrophobic hip-hop of Roots Manuva’s “Seat Yourself”; Zero dB’s tough drum ’n’ bass take on Bonobo’s “Nightlife” (with Shirley Bassey–esque vocals from Bajka) veers headlong into the hand-clappy, lo-fi pop of “Fair Weather Friends” by Daedelus. With this much variety, even the singer-songwriter moments—from Fink and John Matthias, among others—manage to fit in without too much annoyance.

Ninja Tune artist Fink performs at Joe’s Pub Tue 17.