So i just picked up Skylanders swap force on wii u today for the little one(he's  only 2) but he kept picking it up everytime we would go to the store so i finally caved and was wondering if all the skylanders from previous games work with it..as well as future skylanders?....also what are some of the better skylanders? i see a lot and would prefer to get the good ones for him first

Swapforce is the best.. Works with all old figurines(which you can get cheap)
The toys should be compatible with future installments

what do you consider cheap? i saw them for like 12 bucks some for 16 and the packs for like 32...shit ima be broke getting them for him

In the netherlands a lot of older figures are half price 5 euro's.. With the newer figures they even give an old one for free..

It's quite a costly endeavor once you get going.

One thing to note is that you'll need the following movement types and elemental types to access every area:

Climb
Rocket
Speed
Spin
Bounce
Teleport
Dig
Sneak

Magic
Wind
Earth
Fire
Undead
Tech
Water
Life

Edit: These are the characters I bought to get those combinations most efficiently:

Blast Zone (included in bundle)

Wash Buckler (included in bundle)

Rattle Shake

Magna Charge

Free Ranger

Hoot Loop

Stink Bomb

Rubble Rouser

With those six character (plus the two that come with the bundle) you should have one of each of the eight elemental types and one of each of the eight movement types.