Instrumentals: The Best of the Chrysalis Years is a 2003 compilation of American guitarist Leo Kottke's releases on the Chrysalis label. It includes previously unreleased tracks. The Chrysalis release Essential covers the same time period, presenting a different line up of tracks.
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Ronnie D. Lankford Jr. wrote of the album "The tracks flow in chronological order, allowing the listener to follow the guitarist's evolution over his eight years with Chrysalis; and while the albums he recorded during this time may lack the edginess of his earlier material, the pieces on Instrumentals are consistently fresh and invigorating. Guitar hero wannabes, of course, will buy the album for the extra tracks; everyone else will find it a rewarding introduction to mid-period Kottke."[1]