I don't think anybody really knew 25 years ago that Elvis Costello would become the institution that he is today. When he burst on the scene with My Aim Is True, it was clear he had a great talent both a lyricist and composer; he was already a riveting performer, and he quickly churned out several albums of ever increasing ambition. But today, looking back over the scope of his work, he has proved himself both deep and durable, and he has never forsaken that talent.

Big fans of "The Man" have plunked down a lotta dough over the years buying and rebuying his catalog. As frustrating as this has been, each successive generation of reissues has brought with it an ever greater helping of rare and unreleased tracks. In 2001, Rhino Records began a major overhaul of Costello's catalog (originally on Columbia and Warner Brothers) that promises to have us reaching for our wallets yet again. This time round, each album will be accompanied by a complete bonus CD full of b-sides, outtakes, alternate versions, and live renditions plus liner notes by the always loquacious Elvis himself. As of this writing, only a few of the new editions have been released, but they look great.

Rhino began its program with a tremendous, two-disc Very Best Of, and it is both a first-rate primer and a suitable overview for more casual fans. All the many Costello retrospectives issued over the years (Girls Girls Girls, Best Of...The Man, Taking Liberties, Out Of Our Idiot, Extreme Honey, et al.) are rendered obsolete by this set or the other new reissues. A retrospective boxed set hasn't been released, but that would seem premature at this juncture. More than with most major artists, I'd recommend you collect all of Costello's albums - or at least cherry pick some of the numerous highlights from the his canon.

And those are? Well, the first three albums (released in 1977 and 1978) are indispensable. My Aim Is True was a truly astounding piece of work, chock full of great songs ("Alison," "Less Than Zero," "Watching The Detectives") with backing by a spirited, ragged Bay Area group called Clover. By the next record, Elvis had recruited the Attractions, a band of his English peers marvelously attuned to his muse; they have been a sympathetic if sporadic foil ever since. Together, they made This Year's Model the closest thing to punk rock Elvis ever recorded. Fast, furious, and political, it didn't enthrall American audiences, but it proved Costello was a force to be reckoned with.

Armed Forces, the third record, was a tour de force, powerful and playful at the same time. Armed Forces' highlights included "Accidents Will Happen," "Party Girl," and a pounding version of producer Nick Lowe's "(What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding," and it revealed the astounding growth of the band and Elvis as a writer over a very brief period. That span of time was documented on Rykodisc's 2 1/2 Years boxed set (part of their early 90's, now out-of-print reissue series) which included all three discs plus Live At The El Mocambo, a previously promo-only concert recording. Taken as a whole, these albums are the best of Elvis Costello; as good as some of his later releases would be, Costello would in some ways never surpass these three records.

Nevertheless, Elvis has continued to grow and experiment. Get Happy!! (1980), with it's 20 songs crammed onto one LP, was great, as was Trust (1981). Almost Blue (1981), Elvis' love letter to country music is fun but inessential, but Imperial Bedroom (1982) is perhaps the best "mature" album he has ever released. "Man Out Of Time," "Beyond" Belief," "Human Hands" and others are complex, dark, and exciting songs that you never would have expected when listening to My Aim Is True. (The Attractions released an album sans Costello, Mad About The Wrong Boy, in 1980, and it's worth hunting down.)

Highlights since Costello's fertile early years include the rootsy, T-Bone Burnett produced King Of America (1986); a vitriolic Blood & Chocolate (1986); his Warner Brothers debut Spike (1989), containing several songs written with Paul McCartney; a suite of classical songs, The Juliet Letters (1993), recorded with the Brodsky Quartet; Elvis' reunion with the Attractions, All This Useless Beauty (1996); and Pictured From Memory (1998), a collaboration with Burt Bacharach. That last album (in the words of my coworker, Charlie Burton) made easy listening very, very difficult, but it bears fruit on repeated listening. Another album worth picking up is Rhino's Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours And Rendezvous: Songs Of Elvis Costello; it collects notable covers and songs Elvis wrote for other artists.

Elvis is one of very few artists that still excites me with each release. I just never know what's coming - sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it, but it's never dull. I have a lot of records, and I have grown tired of collecting many artists that once inspired me to go without food in order to buy their records. For Elvis Costello, I'd still miss a meal or two.