When a tiny record label told Beck they were releasing "Loser" as a single, he couldn't understand why anyone would be interested in it. After traipsing around New York trying to carve out a spot for himself in the anti-folk movement, he got tired of sleeping on people's couches and moved back to his hometown of Los Angeles, ending up in a rat-infested shack. A few months later, he was on MTV (ironic because he also had a folk-blues track called "MTV Makes Me Want To Smoke Crack").

You're probably well acquainted with "Loser." It's an odd karaoke tune and a staple on local alternative radio stations stuck in the '90s. But "Loser" launched Beck's career in more ways that one – yes, it introduced him to the world, but it also pushed him to prove that he was anything but a loser. And that's why you have a whole discography to comb through.

Beck has distinct phases, and it seems important to point out that these phases are somewhat connected. There's banjo on his hip-hop songs, subtle rapping on his more rock tunes and hidden meaning within "nonsense lyrics." Beck's not just jumping from theme to theme; he's working within himself and the musical encyclopaedia of his brain.

"People have this conception that I put on different characters," he told Rolling Stone in 1997. "But to me, there's a definite continuity in what I do. If there wasn't, it wouldn't work. If I was just trying on a bunch of silly outfits, then there wouldn't be any weight to what I do. I would be a dilettante. But I'm not a dilettante. I'm committed to what I do."

There's the rap-rock of Guero, the R&B-funk of Midnite Vultures, the dark '60s pop of Modern Guilt. There's the Grammy nominations, the Grammy wins, and the near Kanye interruption. And there's the new, radio-friendly hits that you've been hearing in FIFA and Acura commercials throughout this year. With his 13th studio album, Colors, out, now is a crucial time to get into Beck. Lucky for you, we've got five different entry points for you. All you have to do is dive in.

So You Want To Get Into: Country-folk Beck

Beck pretty much has something for everyone. He started with country influences and ended up weaving in hip-hop. He was a huge Mississippi John Hurt fan when he quit school in ninth grade, and he practiced guitar until he could mimic Hurt's finger-picking style and took on a deep, laid-back tone in his voice. Beck's early influences were clearly drawn from the Delta Blues.