2 CDs, 41 Willie Nelson songs. What more could you ask for?

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Disc 1
1. Night Life Willie Nelson 2:32
2. Hello Walls Willie Nelson 2:25
3. Crazy Willie Nelson 2:52
4. Funny How Time Slips Away Willie Nelson 3:03
5. I Never Cared For You Willie Nelson 2:32
6. The Party's Over Willie Nelson 2:29
7. Good Times Willie Nelson 2:28
8. Me And Paul Willie Nelson 3:49
9. Shotgun Willie Willie Nelson 2:39
10. Bloody Mary Morning Willie Nelson 2:49
11. Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain Willie Nelson 2:21
12. Good Hearted Woman Willie Nelson 2:59
13. If You've Got The Money I've Got The Time Willie Nelson 2:06
14. Uncloudy Day Willie Nelson 4:42
15. Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys (Remastered For Buddha - October 30, 2000) Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson 2:33
16. Georgia On My Mind Willie Nelson 4:20
17. Blue Skies Willie Nelson 3:35
18. All Of Me Willie Nelson 3:55
19. Heartbreak Hotel (with Leon Russell) Willie Nelson 3:01
20. Help Me Make It Through The Night Willie Nelson 4:01
21. Whiskey River (Live) Willie Nelson 3:33
22. Stay A Little Longer (Live) Willie Nelson 3:25

Disc 2
1. My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys Willie Nelson 3:06
2. Faded Love Willie Nelson 3:51
3. On The Road Again Willie Nelson 2:34
4. Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground Willie Nelson 4:29
5. Always On My Mind Willie Nelson 3:33
6. Last Thing I Needed First Thing This Morning Willie Nelson 4:21
7. Pancho And Lefty Willie Nelson 4:48
8. To All The Girls I've Loved Before Julio Iglesias duet with Willie Nelson 3:34
9. City Of New Orleans Willie Nelson 4:52
10. Seven Spanish Angels (with Ray Charles) Willie Nelson with Ray Charles 3:53
11. Forgiving You Was Easy Willie Nelson 2:49
12. Highwayman Johnny Cash 3:04
13. Living In The Promiseland Willie Nelson 3:22
14. Nothing I Can Do About It Now Willie Nelson 3:20
15. Graceland Willie Nelson 4:46
16. Everywhere I Go (with Emmylou Harris) Willie Nelson 3:51
17. Slow Dancing (U2 featuring Willie Nelson - Mickey Rapael on Harmonica) U2, Willie Nelson, Mickey Raphael 4:03
18. Mendocino County Line (with Lee Ann Womack) Willie Nelson, Lee Ann Womack
19. One Time Too Many (with Steven Tyler and Aerosmith)(Previously Unreleased) Willie Nelson, Steven Tyler, Aerosmith 5:25

An online reviewer writes:

This is the one to have. Let's face it, all compilations have their weaknesses, but the 2 disc "The Essential Willie Nelson" (2003) is the first to cover all the labels Willie has recorded for and all the big hits in one set! Disc one kicks off with 7 early 60s recordings including "Night life", "Hello Walls", and "Crazy" (which Willie wrote & Patsy Cline made famous). Track 8, "Me and Paul" starts Willie's 70s recordings including "Blue eyes crying in the rain" and of course his classic duets with Waylon: "Good Hearted Woman" & "Mama's don't let your babies...". 3 songs are included from the 1978 album "Stardust": "Blue Skies", "Georgia on my mind", & "All of Me" and disc one closes with two live tracks: "Whiskey River" & "Stay a little longer" both from the '78 album "Willie & Family Live."

Disc 2 continues with late 70s and early 80s hits like "My Heroes have always been Cowboys", "Always on my mind", and of course "On the road again". More classic duets follow with "Pancho & Lefty" (a personal favorite) with Merle Haggard, "To all the girls..." with Julio Iglesias, and "Seven Spanish Angels" with Ray Charles. The 1984 gem "Highwayman" featuring Kristofferson, Waylon, and Cash is also here. The second disc is wrapped up with more duets: "Slow Dancing" with U2 (which surprisingly works because Bono is either MIA or extremely toned down), "Mendocino County Line" with Lee Ann Womack, and "One Time too Many" with Aerosmith. One review stated that these last three songs left a "sour taste" considering that they are part of an "essential" collection. I have to agree, but only greatly in terms of the Aerosmith song. It starts off well enough with acoustic guitar and Willie and Steven Tyler trading verses, but when the rest of Aerosmith kicks in and Tyler does his thing, Willie is drowned out and that's not cool on a Willie Nelson compilation. If one wants to hear Aerosmith, there are many ways to do so. So with the minor exception of the final track of the set, this compilation is indispensable. A great way to get Willie's biggest hits on one reasonably priced set!

*It should be noted that 14 of the 20 tracks from the 1981 compilation "Greatest Hits & some that will be" are included here not to mention 22 of the 30 tracks on 1999's "The Very Best of Willie" as well. So if you have either of these, 2003's "Essential" may not be essential. However, if you don't have any Willie compilations yet, this is the one to go with.