''The Essential Bob Dylan'' is a compilation by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, released in 2000 as the inaugural entry in Sony Music's "The Essential" double-disc compilation series. ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' spans from 1963's "

Blowin' in the Wind "Blowin' in the Wind" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962. It was released as a single and included on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' in 1963. It has been described as a protest song and poses a series of rhetorical questions abou ...

" (from ''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...

'') to 2000's "

Things Have Changed "Things Have Changed" is a song from the film ''Wonder Boys (film), Wonder Boys'', written and performed by Bob Dylan and released as a single on May 1, 2000, that won both the Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Golden Globe Award for ...

" (Dylan's Oscar-winning song from the motion picture ''

Wonder Boys ''Wonder Boys'' is a 1995 novel by the American writer Michael Chabon. It was adapted into a film with the same title in 2000. Plot summary Pittsburgh professor and author Grady Tripp is working on an unwieldy 2,611-page manuscript that is mean ...

''). ''The Essential Bob Dylan'' has proven to be a solid seller in Dylan's catalog, reaching No. 67 in the US and peaking at No. 9 in the UK. The British and Australian releases include all of the tracks from the US edition plus several more. It has been reissued in 2009 and 2016 with varying track listings.

Track listings

All songs written by

except where noted.

Standard track listing

British and Australian track listing

2010 version

2014 version

2016 vinyl version

Charts

Certifications

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Essential Bob Dylan, The 2000 greatest hits albums Albums produced by Tom Wilson (record producer) Albums produced by Mark Knopfler Albums produced by Daniel Lanois Albums produced by Bob Johnston Albums produced by John Hammond (producer) Albums produced by Jerry Wexler Bob Dylan compilation albums Columbia Records compilation albums Albums produced by Leon Russell Albums produced by Don DeVito Albums produced by Barry Beckett Albums produced by Bob Dylan