is an archetypical Texas singer/songwriter, someone who can mine both laughter and tragedy from life along the dusty margins of life in the Lone Star State, and seeing that he's been recording good-to-great albums of his material since 1984, a comprehensive and well-programmed compilation offering a fully rounded introduction to his music would be more than welcome. However, 2007's isn't quite that album. While had recorded a dozen albums by the time this was released, draws its 17 tunes from only six discs, two of which are live albums and three of which ( , and ) are relatively recent efforts that presumably dominate the second half of this collection because they were easy to license rather than because they represent 's finest work. Quite frankly, a number of 's best songs are missing, such as while fan favorites like don't make the cut, either. That said, if doesn't quite present 's best material (or even all his best known), there's little arguing that what's here is great stuff; , who compiled this disc, has edited a satisfying sampler, hitting a graceful balance between crowd pleasers like (the latter prefaced by a rambling story in which loses his car and his girl but meets ) and more resonant numbers like If you're looking for a concise, career-spanning overview of 's long career in music, isn't as much help as you might wish, but the consistent quality is a sure convincer if you or someone you know wants some evidence of 's very real talent as a tunesmith and a performer. ~ Mark Deming