It's hard for most of us to remember that Chaplin was the Stanley Kubrick of his day in the sense that although he worked more major studios (of the time) he had complete control of his pictures.  He essentially did what he wanted to do and the studio had no say.  He was truly independent.  In this spirit I offer what I feel are his ten best (most important) films...

in order:

1/  Monsieur Verdoux
2/  The Great Dictator
3/  City Lights
4/  Soldier Arms
5/  Modern Times
6/  The Gold Rush
7/  A Woman Of Paris
8/  Limelight
9/  The Pilgrim
10/  The Kid