Rain Dogs
by Tom Waits

Album
Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
Year: 1985
Release date: 1985-09-30
Overall rank: 113th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,358 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 5 albums of 1985 (2nd)
Award Top 20 albums of of the 1980s (14th)
Award Top 200 albums of all time (113th)

Listen on Spotify SPOTIFY
Sorry, no matches on eBay for "Rain Dogs Tom Waits".
See full search results on eBay

  My favourite store:  

Listen & Collect

Complete your collection or upgrade your listening experience.

  • Listened Upgrade your listening setup on Amazon (headphones, turntables & speakers)
  • Find vinyl editions of this album on eBay
  • Browse Tom Waits merchandise on Amazon (T-shirts & more)
  • Need a birthday or celebration gift? Browse unique music memorabilia on Amazon

Tom Waits bestography

Rain Dogs is ranked as the best album by Tom Waits.

Tom Waits album bestography « Higher ranked
- This album (113th)
Rain Dogs Lower ranked (368th) »
Swordfishtrombones

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Listen to Rain Dogs on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Rain Dogs track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort Sort by
#
Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Singapore
Average Rating: 87 (286 votes)Comments: View 1
2.
Clap Hands
Average Rating: 86 (268 votes)Comments: View 0
3.
Cemetery Polka
Average Rating: 82 (229 votes)Comments: View 0
4.
Jockey Full Of Bourbon
Average Rating: 86 (272 votes)Comments: View 1
5.
Tango Till They're Sore
Average Rating: 86 (247 votes)Comments: View 2
6.
Big Black Mariah
Average Rating: 81 (221 votes)Comments: View 0
7.
Diamonds And Gold
Average Rating: 81 (219 votes)Comments: View 1
8.
Track pick (880 - 291 votes)
Hang Down Your Head
Average Rating: 88 (291 votes)Comments: View 1
9.
Track pick (880 - 290 votes)
Time
Average Rating: 88 (290 votes)Comments: View 2
10.
Rain Dogs
Average Rating: 87 (255 votes)Comments: View 0
11.
Midtown (Instrumental)
Average Rating: 77 (199 votes)Comments: View 3
12.
9th And Hennepin
Average Rating: 79 (201 votes)Comments: View 0
13.
Gun Street Girl
Average Rating: 84 (224 votes)Comments: View 0
14.
Union Square
Average Rating: 80 (200 votes)Comments: View 1
15.
Blind Love
Average Rating: 81 (211 votes)Comments: View 0
16.
Walking Spanish
Average Rating: 81 (210 votes)Comments: View 0
17.
Track pick (880 - 285 votes)
Downtown Train
Average Rating: 88 (285 votes)Comments: View 3
18.
Bride Of Rain Dog (Instrumental)
Average Rating: 76 (186 votes)Comments: View 0
19.
Anywhere I Lay My Head
Average Rating: 87 (258 votes)Comments: View 5

Track pick (1000 - 100 votes) Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Rain Dogs rankings

Rain Dogs rankings summary
Overall rank: 113th | 1980s rank: 14th | 1985 rank: 2nd  Overall chart history
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 3 hours ago).
Filter Filter
Sort Sort by
YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026craabTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s14/10017
2026 AAL2014Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s35/10013
2026JohnnyoTop 90 Music Albums of 198534/903
2026 ffudnebbuhTop 100 Greatest Music Albums42/10059
2026LittleM1971Top 86 Music Albums of 198571/86 -
2026TroutMaskGregTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s40/10012
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s8/10019
2026 slatsheitTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s43/10012
2026FritzTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s12/10018
2026emptysquaresTop 100 Greatest Music Albums8/10089
2026martinthoTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s29/10014
2026martinthoTop 38 Music Albums of 19852/385
2026jdizzle123456Top 50 Music Albums of the 1980s18/5013
2026 LedZepTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s12/10018
2026bluekiteTop 30 Greatest Music Albums22/3029
2026UntitledTop 25 Music Albums of 19851/255
2026OlliTop 100 Music Albums of 198571/1002
2026 RasmVTop 35 Music Albums of 198531/351
2026joathomeTop 35 Music Albums of 19856/354
2026 cestuneblagueTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s1/10020
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 1,147
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 11,251
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Rain Dogs collection

Rain Dogs ratings

Average Rating: 
84/100 (from 1,358 votes)
  Ratings distribution Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album.  | Show all 1,358 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
85/100
 !		8 hours ago Kaduken  Ratings distribution  54779/100
 
75/100
 !		06/18/2026 02:02 AvalancheGrips  Ratings distribution  77785/100
 
40/100
 !		06/06/2026 13:36 DSharx  Ratings distribution  1355/100
 
90/100
 !		05/19/2026 00:37 golrab67  Ratings distribution  17391/100
 
75/100
 !		04/29/2026 01:16 oilnoilnoilnoil  Ratings distribution  27278/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)
This album is rated in the top 1% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 84.2/100, a mean average of 82.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 84.2/100. The standard deviation for this album is 17.2.


Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to leave a rating

Rain Dogs comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 89 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Positive Sentiment First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
100/100
From 03/30/2026 01:34 | #313688
Unhinged
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 02/06/2026 21:58 | #313033
Levitating right now.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/28/2025 08:57 | #310325
It took me quite a while to get into this album but if you give it a chance you'll be greatly rewarded. It's been a while since I re-evaluated this album and needs to move upwards on my charts.

A master at work
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
15/100
From 05/29/2025 16:00 | #309169
Not a fan of this, found it basic instrumentally and the vocals annoying. Surprised it's nearly in the top 100. Downtown Train and Hang Down Your Head are lovely though.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
15/100
From 01/23/2024 03:19 | #301402
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -5 votes (0 helpful | 5 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 10/04/2023 15:17 | #299347
You can't beat Waits' wonderful gravely voice.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 01/01/2023 21:57 | #292396
I’ve heard many Tom Waits’ records and this is basically one more. A nice one.
No surprise but that doesn’t make it a bad record.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
95/100
From 12/18/2022 20:23 | #292044
This album is sooo good, he took everything that was great on Swordfishtrombones and improved it. It sill has a vibe of sitting in a bar, drunk, late at night and listening to stories from eccentric man, but the atmosphere created with instrumentals are even darker and more twisted. His vocals are wild as ever and I absolutely love it. Highlights: Singapore, Jockey Full Of Bourbon (my favorite), Hang Down Your Head, Rain Doogs, Gun Street GIrl, Downtown Train.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +3 votes (3 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 08/31/2022 03:42 | #289124
Grew on me
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/06/2022 17:41 | #288176
Odd and eerie. This album contains sounds you'll have never heard. But deep down can find some wonderful melodies.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or create an account if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Rain Dogs

Anonymous
What do you think of this album? Leave a comment or rate it below.
The top-voted comments get featured on our charts, Album of the Day, and the site newsletter.
Log in or create an account to rate this album, leave comments and join the discussion.
Best Albums of  1985
1. Hounds Of Love by Kate Bush
2. Rain Dogs by Tom Waits
3. Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits
4. Meat Is Murder by The Smiths
5. Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain
6. Songs From The Big Chair by Tears For Fears
7. The Head On The Door by The Cure
8. Tim by The Replacements
9. Steve McQueen by Prefab Sprout
10. Rum Sodomy & The Lash by The Pogues