Franks Wild Years
by Tom Waits

Franks Wild Years by Tom Waits
Year: 1987
Release date: 1987-08-17
Overall rank: 1,635th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 279 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1987 (33rd)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (255th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,635th)

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Tom Waits LP-Franks Wild Years-1987-Island-Gatefold-Near Mint
Condition: Used


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Franks Wild Years by Waits, Tom (Record, 2023)
Condition: New


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Tom Waits - Franks Wild Years (Mint)*
Condition: Used


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Tom Waits bestography

Franks Wild Years is ranked 9th best out of 27 albums by Tom Waits on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by Tom Waits is Rain Dogs which is ranked number 112 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 11,446.

Tom Waits album bestography « Higher ranked (1,610th)
Heartattack And Vine
This album (1,635th)
Franks Wild Years
Lower ranked (1,677th) »
Bad As Me

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

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Franks Wild Years track list

  Track ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 82 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
15.
Track pick (860 - 73 votes)
Average Rating: 86 (73 votes)Comments: View 0

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

Franks Wild Years rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 1,635th | 1980s rank: 255th | 1987 rank: 33rd
Filter Filter
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YearSourceChartRankRank Score
2026 videoheadcleanerTop 100 Music Albums of 198774/1001
2026amirmishaliTop 31 Music Albums of 19872/315
2026 ExTeaSeaTop 71 Music Albums of 19878/715
2026 HeliosTop 80 Music Albums of 198738/803
2026matterhornriderTop 48 Music Albums of 198720/483
2026 paladisiactop 60r albums (60), #0001-0100*28/66 -
2026 RomanelliTop 55 Music Albums of 198750/551
2026 sssvnnnTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s38/10013
2026 HaydenTop 50 Music Albums of 198713/504
2026shanelovesyou1111Top 66 Music Albums of 198728/663
2026HyggevinylTop 52 Music Albums of 19875/525
2026JohnnyoTop 100 Music Albums of 198776/1001
2026 JMGL95Top 100 Music Albums of the 1980s82/1004
2026 AAL2014Top 49 Music Albums of 198720/493
2026cicadelicRolling Stone 1987 Critics Best Album9/10 -
2026cicadelicTop 100 Music Albums of 198763/1002
2026HyggevinylTop 100 Music Albums of the 1980s98/1001
2026 RomanelliMy Overall Chart: 2501-260023/100 -
2026cicadelicSounds Album Of The Year 198747/50 -
2026 MadhattanJackTop 69 Music Albums of 198741/692
Total Charts: Help The total number of charts that this album has appeared in. 227
Total Rank Score: Help The total rank score. 1,037
You can include this album in your own chart from the My Charts page!

Franks Wild Years collection

Franks Wild Years ratings

Average Rating: 
78/100 (from 279 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 279 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
95/100
 
03/30/2026 01:36 thedudeabides  Ratings distribution  16983/100
 
100/100
 
03/23/2026 14:01 Jofunkystrass  Ratings distribution  695/100
 
75/100
 
03/18/2026 16:21 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  9,02070/100
 
70/100
 
02/28/2026 16:43 DaveH68  Ratings distribution  1,36376/100
 
80/100
 
01/24/2026 12:09 haz215  Ratings distribution  11473/100

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 3% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 77.6/100, a mean average of 76.3/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 77.8/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.1.

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Franks Wild Years comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 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 07/20/2025 00:07 | #310216
Possibly my favorite album of all time
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 05/06/2020 19:10 | #251001
Didn't like it on the first listen, but it's grown on me. Not as good as Swordfishtrombones or Rain Dogs, but a solid album nonetheless.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 12/31/2019 16:49 | #246235
Great stuff.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 02/18/2018 11:44 | #208667
Questo ennesimo, strambo, parto della fantasia di Tom Waits è un disco compiuto, un ballo in maschera a cui partecipano solo i freaks, un accompagnamento notturno non romanticamente epico come "Raindogs" ma comunque intenso.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/13/2017 06:34 | #189191
Extraordinarily experimental and pretty hard to listen to around the middle (because it's so sad). I have to value the creative arrangements but at the same time I miss the fun you can find in other Waits albums. Also, I have a specific problem with how some of the vocals/recordings sound on this album that sound flat, that I hadn't noticed in at least his earlier recordings.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 04/21/2016 12:17 | #164222
It is my favorite Tom Waits album and is somewhere on my chart
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/20/2016 15:06 | #164177
Another brilliant Tom Waits album. For all the talk that it's a musical, or whatever the hell it's meant to be, at the end of the day, it's a stunning record full of great songs. I do almost think if it though as a kind of final part of a trilogy after, swordfish, and, Rain dogs. As for the songs, temptation, innocent when you dream, more than rain, and, telephone call from Istanbul, are all fantastic, as are, cold, cold ground, train song, and, i'll be gone. In fact the whole album is great. I especially like the sinatra-esque, straight to the top, which switches into a kind of nightmare version of Sinatra's own, new york, new york, on, i'll take new York. It's another breathtaking album from Waits, got to be up there in his top five or six.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 12/14/2014 22:29 | #129381
Not as strong as Rain Dogs, but still chock full of Tom Waits quality. Underrated.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 11/13/2013 19:49 | #92202
I'd so love to see the play performed.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 11/19/2011 14:06 | #30842
I love this album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1987
1. The Joshua Tree by U2
2. Appetite For Destruction by Guns N' Roses
3. Sign "O" The Times by Prince
4. Strangeways, Here We Come by The Smiths
5. You're Living All Over Me by Dinosaur
6. Document by R.E.M.
7. Bad by Michael Jackson
8. Music For The Masses by Depeche Mode
9. Sister by Sonic Youth
10. Substance by New Order
11. Kiss Me Kiss Me Kiss Me by The Cure
12. Hysteria by Def Leppard
13. Kick by INXS
14. Louder Than Bombs by The Smiths
15. Darklands by The Jesus And Mary Chain
16. Come On Pilgrim by Pixies
17. Diesel And Dust by Midnight Oil
18. Paid In Full by Eric B. & Rakim
19. Tango In The Night by Fleetwood Mac
20. Tunnel Of Love by Bruce Springsteen