This Friday and Saturday, comedy music maven and pop music parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic makes a stop in Chicago for his new Ridiculously Self-Indulgent, Ill-Advised Vanity Tour, a series of concerts focused on his catalog of original songs. If you only think of Yankovic as the “Eat It” guy, you’re missing out on a wealth of hidden gems that provide the real meat of his discography and act as a better demonstration of both his songwriting skills and the impressive range of his band. With that in mind, here are my favorite Weird Al originals, one from each of his 14 albums.

“Weird Al” Yankovic (1983) – “The Check’s in the Mail”

“Weird Al” Yankovic in 3-D (1984) – “Buy Me a Condo”

Dare to Be Stupid (1985) – “One More Minute”

Polka Party (1986) – “Dog Eat Dog”

Even Worse (1988) – “Velvet Elvis”

UHF (1989) – “Generic Blues”

Off the Deep End (1992) – “You Don’t Love Me Anymore”

Alapalooza (1993) – “Frank’s 2000″ TV”

Bad Hair Day (1996) – “Everything You Know Is Wrong”

Running with Scissors (1999) – “Your Horoscope for Today”

Poodle Hat (2003) – “Genius in France”

Straight Outta Lynwood (2006) – “Pancreas”

Alpocalypse (2011) – “Skipper Dan”

Mandatory Fun (2014) – “Mission Statement”

Credit: alyankovicVEVO, Casey Decker, jedbadda, SWBattlefrontGuru, RWappin, AlbinoBlackSheep, oenthusiast