The Essential - CD 1  (77:58)
	01	Suzanne						03:48
	02	The Stranger Song						05:00
	03	Sisters Of Mercy						03:33
	04	Hey, That's No Way To Say Goodbye						02:54
	05	So Long, Marianne						05:39
	06	Bird On A Wire						03:25
	07	The Partisan						03:25
	08	Famous Blue Raincoat						05:09
	09	Chelsea Hotel #2						03:06
	10	Take This Longing						04:06
	11	Who By Fire						02:34
	12	The Guests						06:40
	13	Hallelujah						04:38
	14	If It Be Your Will						03:42
	15	Night Comes On						04:40
	16	I'm Your Man						04:25
	17	Everybody Knows						05:37
	18	Tower Of Song						05:37
The Essential - CD 2  (78:22)
	01	Ain't No Cure For Love						04:51
	02	Take This Waltz						05:59
	03	First We Take Manhattan						05:51
	04	Dance Me To The End Of Love (Live Version)						06:06
	05	The Future						06:41
	06	Democracy						07:05
	07	Waiting For The Miracle						07:42
	08	Closing Time						05:59
	09	Anthem						06:00
	10	In My Secret Life						04:54
	11	Alexandra Leaving						05:24
	12	A Thousand Kisses Deep						06:28
	13	Love Itself						05:22

The tracks on this two-CD, 31-song anthology, spanning Cohen's career from his 1967 debut album through 2002's Ten New Songs, were chosen by Cohen himself. It could thus be regarded as an accurate mirror of how Cohen sees his own career path and catalog highlights.

Producer – Bob Johnston (tracks: 1-6 to 1-8), Bob Metzger (tracks: 2-4), Henry Lewy (tracks: 1-12), Jean-Michel Reusser (tracks: 2-2), John Lissauer (tracks: 1-9 to 1-11, 1-13 to 1-15), John Simon (tracks: 1-1 to 1-5), Leanne Ungar (tracks: 2-4, 2-8), Leonard Cohen (tracks: 1-12, 1-16 to 1-18, 2-1 to 2-3, 2-5, 2-7 to 2-9), Michel Robidoux (tracks: 1-16, 1-17), Rebecca De Mornay (tracks: 2-9), Roscoe Beck (tracks: 2-1, 2-2), Sharon Robinson (tracks: 2-10 to 2-13), Yoav Goren (tracks: 2-7)
Written-By – Federico García Lorca (tracks: 2-2), L. Cohen* (tracks: 1-1 to 1-6, 1-8 to 2-13), S. Robinson* (tracks: 1-17, 2-7, 2-10 to 2-13)