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How to Save a Life is the debut studio album by American alternative rock band The Fray. Released on September 13, 2005 through Epic Records, the record charted in the top 15 on the Billboard 200 and was a top ten hit in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand and the UK. The first two singles from the album, "Over My Head (Cable Car)" and "How to Save a Life" helped the album become a commercial success and brought the band mainstream popularity.

Critical reception to the album was mixed. The piano-rock style of the album drew comparisons with British piano-driven bands like Keane and Coldplay. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA, and was also certified platinum in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and in the UK. The album went on to become the best-selling digital album of all time, breaking the record held previously by Coldplay's X&Y. It was ranked #21 on Billboard's list of the Best Digital Albums of the Decade.

After independently releasing two EPs, The Fray were looking for a record company to release a full-length album. The band released their song "Cable Car" to Denver radio station KTCL, and the song saw significant airplay. Denver alternative newsweekly Westword named the band "Best New Band" in 2004, and this prompted Epic Records A&R man Daniel Davis to sign the band to a recording contract on December 17, 2004. The album was recorded over six weeks in Echo Park Studios in Bloomington, Indiana, and was produced by Aaron Johnson and Mike Flynn. Former bass guitar player Dan Battenhouse left the band a year before entering the studio, Jake Smith, former lead singer and guitarist of the band The Mysteries of Life, took over bass guitar duties.

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