Closing Time
by Tom Waits
Listen & Collect
Complete your collection or upgrade your listening experience.
Tom Waits bestography
Closing Time is ranked 3rd best out of 27 albums by Tom Waits on BestEverAlbums.com.
The best album by Tom Waits is Rain Dogs which is ranked number 113 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 11,294.
(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 Closing Time on YouTube
Closing Time track list
The tracks on this album have an average rating of 83 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).
Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.
Closing Time rankings
(Calculated from aggregate positions across 60,000 charts (2 million album rankings). (Last updated: 1 hour ago).
Romanelli
LedZep
dihansse
Purplepash
imimesis
HelsinkiSnorkel
bertrandu
TheDarkOrbClosing Time collection
Showing latest 20 members who have this album in their collection | Show all 293 members
Closing Time ratings
Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AVwhere:
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 564 ratings for this album.
| Rating | Date updated | Member | Album ratings | Avg. album rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ! | 07/12/2026 18:08 | liquidbottle | 775 | 82/100 |
| ! | 05/11/2026 21:52 | mash | 1,487 | 89/100 |
| ! | 04/18/2026 18:08 | bonnequestion | 1,668 | 70/100 |
| ! | 04/08/2026 18:23 | Olli | 7,528 | 62/100 |
| ! | 03/30/2026 01:35 | thedudeabides | 169 | 83/100 |
Rating metrics:
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 80.4/100, a mean average of 79.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 80.6/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.6.
Closing Time favourites
Showing latest 20 members who have added this album as a favourite | Show all 88 members
Closing Time comments
Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 33 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)
HoldenM 01/30/2026 16:35 | #312900
Sublime.
An ode to Sinatra a la "Only the Lonely." Some very beautiful songs on here. "Martha" stands as a classic. 9.5/10!
Jboy56 05/09/2023 16:06 | #296804
Toms best
Great record
Good record, Tom presents his interesting vocals, but didn't develop his unique style yet.
What a beautifully written and performed work of art that always brings back feelings of nostalgia of sitting in a bar in the early hours of the morning. This is mainly achieved through the effective selection of instrumentation from Waits who uses the piano and horns masterfully. He keeps the piano consistent throughout then sprinkles the horns in from time to time which blends amongst the other instruments to create a dense and rich atmosphere for us to ponder in. This record really makes you think and puts you into the mood for introspection. It is the perfect record for late night drinking or just for chilling in the early hours of the morning. Waits himself is phenomenal on here. He delivers his lyrics so well and while he doesn't have his signature rasp yet you can start to hear it in places on here which keeps the vocal interesting and unique. Overall, a must listen album of Tom Waits and it is the one I come back to the most just for that iconic atmosphere and beautiful instrumentation.
This album is very intimate. Tom's vocals are worn yet soft compared to later albums. His lyrics and composition are equally wonderful, a great album that reminiscent of late nights in a empty bars.
Larcx13 11/22/2020 13:40 | #261224
I'm happy im able to enjoy nearly all genres. What an enjoyable listen. Nothing over the top. Just some nice piano, horns, and guitar playing with a deep voice. Jazzy, folky and bluesy all in one. This record is for loungin'. Ol' 55 & I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love With You are my top tracks and even though it's a little silly, the energy on Ice Cream Man makes it my personal favorite. As a whole, though pleasing to my ears, all the songs sound kind of safe and though I get a general similar feel and vision from the music, there's not much of an elaborated concept. It's just a really enjoyable album.
llibnanoon 08/17/2020 15:52 | #257116
Never really gave Tom Waits a listen until now. Not bad. Rating (75.42)
Wonderful album.
Your feedback for Closing Time
The top-voted comments get featured on our charts, Album of the Day, and the site newsletter.
