??The furor erupting over Robin Thicke and Pharrell Williams' hit "Blurred Lines" has had at least one positive outcome: new listeners are discovering Marvin in droves, streaming his songs at a rate that hasn't been seen since Jack Black revived "Let's Get It On" in the movie High Fidelity. But if you're a recent convert, a casual fan, or a dedicated listener looking to cover up any spots in your knowledge, this playlist can help -- the high points of Marvin's career, more or less chronological and covering not only the songs that the public embraced but those it didn't.

1. "Stubborn Kind of Fellow" Marvin's initial foray into pop; an unassuming little number in Motown's early girl-group mode.
2. "Hitch Hike" His first big hit, and one that cannily reconstructs a dance craze as a shaggy-dog romance.
3. "Pride and Joy" Nicely showcases his early vocal style, a cross between Ray Charles' grit and Sam Cooke's smooth geniality.
4. "Can I Get a Witness" The first indication of his gospel power, with a title stolen from black church preachers and secularized.
5. "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved by You)" When Motown started to lean in a popper direction, Marvin went with them; James Taylor's '70s cover didn't have to tone the soul down much.
6. "I'll Be Doggone" You can hear Gaye start to employ his falsetto more often on this 1965 smash.
7. "Ain't That Peculiar" Marvin's family also thinks Pharrell Williams' "Happy" sounds a lot like this oldie; it's certainly the most uptempo of Gaye's early work.
8. "It Takes Two" (with Kim Weston) The first of his big hit duets, it's a cute little ditty that oddly presages much of his later themes of women as agents of redemption.

1. "Night Life" Marvin's true passion was jazz pop in the style of Nat King Cole, but he never developed a distinctive style as an interpreter. This Willie Nelson cover, however, is a rare exception.
2. "You"  A failed minor chart entry that finds Gaye in Four Tops mode -- to surprisingly dramatic effect.
3. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" (with Tammi Terrell) The first of his legendary duets with Tammi manages to convey twice the emotion of Diana Ross' cover in half the time.
4. "Your Precious Love" (with Tammi Terrell) Here you can hear Marvin really start to apply his jazz vocalese expressiveness on exquisitely sexy lines like "What you've given me I could never return."
5. "Ain't Nothing Like the Real Thing" (with Tammi Terrell) Compare this midtempo ballad to his other duets and you'll see how Tammi drew the best from him emotionally. Her untimely death in 1970 affected him immensely.
6. "You're All I Need to Get By" (with Tammi Terrell) An epic pledge of devotion that may be the finest romantic duet of all time, period.
7. "His Eye Is on the Sparrow" Recorded for a Motown artists album as a tribute to Berry Gordy's late sister, this stunning version of the gospel standard was sadly out of print for many decades.
8. "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" It didn't happen overnight, but this once-forgotten deep cut, rescued by DJs, would profoundly alter Gaye's approach to singing and songwriting.
9. "Too Busy Thinking About My Baby" A superb slice of sweet soul and Marvin's last classic-style romantic testament.
10. "That's the Way Love Is" Motown's usual attempt to replicate a previous hit, but this actually does a great job as a more philosophical "Grapevine."
11. "Yesterday" Somehow, Marvin applies his own style to the most overcovered song of the '60s.
12. "What's Going On" The singer's second great era begins as he takes full control of his art, combines all his influences, and creates a beatific jazz pop that's socially conscious and danceable.
13. "Mercy Mercy Me (The Ecology)" The first pop hit to seriously address man's impact on the environment, done with a reverence that makes the Earth feel like a desecrated temple.
14. "Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler)" His landmark What's Going On album ends with a somber note of urban decay that's appropriately bluesier and funkier than his '60s work. He also employs his falsetto throughout for the first time.
15. "Trouble Man" Marvin's obligatory early-'70s blaxploitation soundtrack is jazzier and more ethereal than most, and his popularity was such that it landed in the pop top 10 anyway.
16. "Let's Get It On" The song that began as a post-rehab redemption for its songwriter marks the moment where Gaye's sexuality merges with his spirituality.
17. "Come Get to This" The followup single to 'Let's Get It On" keeps the spirit of the classic album, but welds it to a Motown throwback shuffle and some classic doo-wop harmonies.
18. "Distant Lover" The third single from Let's Get It On was actually released in a live version, but the studio original is more ethereal.
19. "I Want You" Having met second wife Janis Hunter during the recording of his last album, he turns his entire next release into an anthem to her and her budding sexuality. (She's half his age.)
20. "After the Dance" An uptempo seduction that could be a rewrite of the time he and Janis first met.
21. "Got to Give It Up" Pressured by Motown to go disco, Marvin instead cuts an epic jazz funk jam (an answer to Johnnie Taylor's "Disco Lady") that tore up the dance charts anyway.
22. "When Did You Stop Loving Me, When Did I Stop Loving You" The central song of Gaye's "divorce album" Here, My Dear, contractually obligated to Janis, is a painful half-spoken rumination on love and loyalty.
23. "Praise" Motown's decision to release the unfinished album In our Lifetime leads to him leaving the label, but this Stevie Wonder-inspired funk spiritual represents the best of the sessions.
24. "Sexual Healing" Now on a new label and with his drug problems supposedly behind him, Gaye engineers an amazing comeback. But a heated argument with his violent father ensures he won't live to capitalize on it.