Small Change (studio album) by Tom Waits

Small Change by Tom Waits
Year: 1976
Overall rank: 1,220th   Overall chart historyOverall chart history
Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 338 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution   Average rating historyAverage rating history
Accolades:
Award Top 20 albums of 1976 (20th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (249th)
Award Best albums of all time (1,220th)
Product Details
Availability

eBay
eBay
TOM WAITS - SMALL CHANGE NEW CD
Condition: Brand New


eBay
eBay
Tom Waits - Small Change [New Vinyl LP]
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
Tom Waits - Small Change - Tom Waits CD Y9VG The Fast Free Shipping
Condition: Very Good


  My favourite store:  

Tom Waits bestography

Small Change is ranked 6th 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 11,907.

Tom Waits album bestography « Higher ranked (896th) This album (1,220th) Lower ranked (1,449th) »
Mule VariationsSmall ChangeThe Heart Of Saturday Night

Upcoming concerts

Oct
11
Sat
15:30
Cavalera Chaos A.D.
Marquee Theatre, Tempe, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Oct
23
Thu
19:30
Randy Travis: More Life Tour
Lexington Opera House, Lexington, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Oct
16
Thu
20:00
The High Hawks
Majestic Theatre, Madison, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Discover more upcoming concerts

Listen to Small Change on YouTube

Loading content from YouTube...

Small Change track list

  Track ratingsTrack ratings The tracks on this album have an average rating of 81 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

Sort by

Track pick Top-rated track as rated by BestEverAlbums.com members.

Small Change rankings

Small Change collection

Small Change ratings

Average Rating: 
79/100 (from 338 votes)
  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 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 338 ratings for this album.

Sort ratings
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
80/100
 Report rating
07/22/2025 12:57 RemainInLight  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,05436/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
07/22/2025 01:59 AAL2014  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,32175/100
 
85/100
 Report rating
07/13/2025 05:56 MaxStorm98  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 3,75690/100
 
75/100
 Report rating
05/03/2025 22:38 TastyandTemptin  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,90272/100
 
70/100
 Report rating
01/18/2025 19:53 Dankel  Ratings distributionRatings distribution 2,56176/100

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 2% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 78.6/100, a mean average of 77.4/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 78.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 15.9.

Please log in or register if you want to be able to leave a rating

Small Change comments

Showing latest 10 comments | Show all 14 comments |
Most Helpful First | Newest First | Maximum Rated First | Longest Comments First
(Only showing comments with -2 votes or higher. You can alter this threshold from your profile page. Manage Profile)

Rating:  
65/100
From 07/30/2022 07:02
This comment is beneath your viewing threshold.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | -3 votes (0 helpful | 3 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 12/31/2019 16:48
Great stuff.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 07/27/2018 20:59
My favourite Tom Waits album. It has wit, pathos, gallows humour and some of the finest lyrics put to music. Everyone who has ever been drunk can relate to Tom Traubert's Blues. Or anyone who has ever felt sorry for themselves. It has some great songs. It probably is the ultimate drinking album but I don't drink anymore. But it doesn't stop me relating to this fine album.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +2 votes (2 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
75/100
From 02/15/2018 19:27
Tom Traubert's blues", per quel che mi riguarda, fa parte delle mie - facciamo - cinque canzoni preferite del suo autore. Il resto è un lavoro magari discontinuo ma eccellente, composto da notturni pianistici ora più vicini al blues, ora al jazz, evocanti locali fumosi e malfamati e suonato con una strumentazione parca ( piano, basso, batteria e sax ) che dà all'album quell'asciuttezza che più avanti sarebbe mancata.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 07/15/2017 06:05
Love for this original
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 04/10/2017 06:49
"Tom Traubert's Blues" and "Jitterbug Blues" are two of Tom Waits's best. A somewhat inconsistent album, but it's nevertheless the album where we get to here "the voice" for the first time (switching to the signature drawl from his earlier, more conventional singing style)
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/15/2016 15:39
Small change is without doubt the best Tom Waits album of the seventies. Here, he is fully formed, the sozzled barroom troubadour reaches it's peak. Waits is at the top of his game. While, closing time, was uncertain, the heart of Saturday night, slightly immature, and, nighthawks at the diner, a little forced, small change, is the record where Waits completely nails it. Opener, Tom Traubert's blues, is one of Waits' greatest ever songs, beautiful and moving, a stunning track. One step up, is a mock improvisation,again stunning. Other highlights are the excellent, invitation to the blues, the superb, bad liver and a broken heart, and the lovely closing track, I can't wait to get of work. There's no weak tracks, everything is wonderful, the lyrics are extraordinary, the performances perfect, from the cool jazz of, I wish I was in New Orleans, to the smoky title track. Small change, is an inebriated masterpiece. Excellent.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +5 votes (5 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
90/100
From 04/11/2013 17:12
Small Change marks Tom Waits' transition to elite status.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
100/100
From 12/26/2012 22:36
Although its a close race, this has to be my favorite Waits album. Cant get enough. Tom traubert's blues will be played at every special occasion for the rest of my life.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 09/10/2010 09:05
One of those albums that seems to last 100 years. And I don't actually mean that in a bad way.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)

Please log in or register if you want to be able to add a comment

Your feedback for Small Change

Anonymous
Let us know what you think of this album by adding a comment or assigning a rating below!
Log in or register to assign a rating or leave a comment for this album.
Best Albums of 1976
1. Songs In The Key Of Life by Stevie Wonder
2. Station To Station by David Bowie
3. Ramones by Ramones
4. Hotel California by Eagles
5. Boston by Boston
6. Desire by Bob Dylan
7. Hejira by Joni Mitchell
8. 2112 by Rush
9. The Modern Lovers by The Modern Lovers
10. A New World Record by Electric Light Orchestra
11. A Trick Of The Tail by Genesis
12. Jailbreak by Thin Lizzy
13. Rising by Rainbow
14. Oxygène by Jean Michel Jarre
15. A Day At The Races by Queen
16. The Royal Scam by Steely Dan
17. "Rocks" by Aerosmith
18. Moonmadness by Camel
19. África Brasil by Jorge Ben
20. Small Change by Tom Waits
Back to Top