his newer releases are tight, still got that oakland funk, it's just cleaner production. Less funky bass lines and samples, more original, but not better, just different. He also has a little more "south" in his newer shit. Plus he's more lyrically creative in his newer releases, and he's a little bit faster with the ryhmes. I favor his older shit though.
Best Albums in my opinion:
Cocktails
Life is Too $hort
Born to Mack
Gettin' it
Shorty the Pimp
Also get the players years (albums 1-3), listen to that shit from 83' when he was still young. You'll see the progress too $hort made in his career, crazy to listen to that shit.