The Essential Electric Light Orchestra is a single CD, US-only compilation album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 2003. It is part of Sony Music's The Essential series. It was preceded by US compilations Olé ELO in 1976 and Strange Magic: The Best of Electric Light Orchestra in 1995. 　　On 2 September 2008 an eco-friendly repackage of this album called Playlist: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra was released and included a multimedia section on the CD with photos, credits and two new wallpapers. 　　A third re-release in 2011 expanded the original album to include a second disc and also rearranged the entire track order. This is the third ELO compilation that presents a chronological run-through of ELO's singles/songs. The original artwork has been slightly altered as well to differentiate from the single CD release.