# Tom Waits discography
The Tom Waits discography is the recorded catalog of American singer-songwriter [Tom Waits](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-waits) (Thomas Alan Waits, born 1949 in [Pomona, California](https://www.edgepedia.org/pomona-california)), spanning studio albums, soundtracks, live recordings, and compilations from 1973 to the present. One aggregator counts 127 release records for the artist between 1973 and 2026.[1](https://www.bandslate.com/band/tom-waits) The catalog divides into three label eras: the Asylum years of the 1970s, the [Island Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/island-records) years of the 1980s and 1990s, and releases on ANTI- from 1999 onward.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119) • [3](https://www.rhino.com/article/tom-waits)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First album | *Closing Time* (1973), released on Asylum[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119/) |
| Studio albums | Sixteen albums listed from *Closing Time* (1973) to *Bad as Me* (2011), plus the 1982 *One from the Heart* soundtrack with Crystal Gayle on CBS[4](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c3aeb863-7b26-4388-94e8-5a240f2be21b) • [2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119/) |
| Island trilogy | *Swordfishtrombones* (1983), *Rain Dogs* (1985), and *Frank's Wild Years* (1987), sonically linked and thematically tied by the song "Frank's Wild Years"[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/tom-waits) |
| Grammy winners | *Bone Machine* won Best Alternative Music Album; *Mule Variations* (1999) won Best Contemporary Folk Album and was certified Gold[5](https://users.iit.demokritos.gr/~k.palaiologos/thymeli/pdf_files/Rowman%20%26%20Littlefield%20-%20Historical%20Dictionary%20of%20Popular%20Music.pdf) • [6](https://www.anti.com/press/tom-waits-to-release-newly-remastered-anti-albums-2/?month=9&year=2026) |
| Most recent studio album | *Bad as Me* (2011), his first studio album in seven years and first set of all-new original material since *Orphans*[6](https://www.anti.com/press/tom-waits-to-release-newly-remastered-anti-albums-2/?month=9&year=2026) • [7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778) |
| 2026 releases | "Boots on the Ground" with Massive Attack (April 2026), his first new music since *Bad as Me*, and the spoken-word track "The Fly" (2026), co-written with Kathleen Brennan[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/listen-to-tom-waits-new-spoken-word-track-the-fly/) |
## The Asylum years, 1973–1982
Waits debuted as a relatively conventional singer-songwriter with a twinge of blues and jazz, singing in a raspy croon about vagabonds and outcasts.[9](https://www.grammy.com/news/songbook-a-guide-to-tom-waits-discography-videos/) His Asylum and Elektra/Asylum albums ran *[Closing Time](https://www.edgepedia.org/closing-time-album)* (1973), *The Heart of Saturday Night* (1974), *Nighthawks at the Diner* (1975), *Small Change* (1976), *Foreign Affairs* (1977), *Blue Valentine* (1978), and *Heartattack and Vine* (1980).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119/) *Nighthawks at the Diner*, a two-record live-in-studio set, was described in a 1977 profile as the closest representation of Waits the performer, though his least musical album to date.[10](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gig/70s/Gig-1977-05.pdf)
**Commercial and critical footing.** *The Heart of Saturday Night* was less folky and countrified than the debut, was positively received by critics, and entered the lower rungs of the Top 200 chart.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119) *Small Change* reached number 89 and produced setlist staples including "Tom Traubert's Blues" (also known as "Waltzing Matilda") and "Step Right Up"; it also included "Jersey Girl," later covered by [Bruce Springsteen](https://www.edgepedia.org/bruce-springsteen).[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119) In 1982 Waits recorded the soundtrack *One from the Heart* for the [Francis Ford Coppola](https://www.edgepedia.org/francis-ford-coppola) film, working with country singer [Crystal Gayle](https://www.edgepedia.org/crystal-gayle), released on CBS Records.[2](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119/) • [7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778)
## The Island trilogy and the experimental turn, 1983–1993
The most dramatic shift in Waits' career came with 1983's *Swordfishtrombones*, his first release for Island Records and the first album of the sound most often associated with him.[9](https://www.grammy.com/news/songbook-a-guide-to-tom-waits-discography-videos/) He had left Asylum for Island, self-produced the record, and replaced the bar-room piano of earlier albums with unconventional percussion and found sounds; during the *One from the Heart* sessions, percussionist Emil Richards had introduced him to exotic instruments including the African talking drum, marimba, bell plate, and the glass armonica.[11](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/tom-waits-repub) On *Rain Dogs* (1985), percussion was wrought from cups, wooden blocks, and even a chest of drawers, which Waits said was played with a two-by-four until it collapsed on the last bar of the song "Singapore."[11](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/tom-waits-repub) The album also carried more accessible songs such as "Downtown Train," which became a hit for [Rod Stewart](https://www.edgepedia.org/rod-stewart) when he covered it in 1991, and features [Keith Richards](https://www.edgepedia.org/keith-richards).[9](https://www.grammy.com/news/songbook-a-guide-to-tom-waits-discography-videos/) Despite that accessibility and a return to formal song forms, the album reached only number 185 on the albums chart.[7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778)
*Swordfishtrombones*, *Rain Dogs*, and *Frank's Wild Years* (1987) form an informal trilogy, sonically and stylistically linked by Waits' newfound sense of adventure and thematically tied by the song "Frank's Wild Years," which Waits and his wife and co-writer [Kathleen Brennan](https://www.edgepedia.org/kathleen-brennan) later mounted as a stage musical.[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/tom-waits) • [7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778) The experimentation of the trilogy brought his music to post-punk and indie rock audiences.[7](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778)
**The 1990s.** After a six-year break spent on musicals, operettas, and movie projects, Waits returned with *Mule Variations* (1999), his first album for the ANTI-/Epitaph label.[3](https://www.rhino.com/article/tom-waits) Before that, *Bone Machine* won the [Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-award-for-best-alternative-music-album).[5](https://users.iit.demokritos.gr/~k.palaiologos/thymeli/pdf_files/Rowman%20%26%20Littlefield%20-%20Historical%20Dictionary%20of%20Popular%20Music.pdf) Sources date the album differently: [MusicBrainz](https://www.edgepedia.org/musicbrainz) lists *Bone Machine* as 1992, while the Historical Dictionary of Popular Music gives 1993.[4](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c3aeb863-7b26-4388-94e8-5a240f2be21b) • [5](https://users.iit.demokritos.gr/~k.palaiologos/thymeli/pdf_files/Rowman%20%26%20Littlefield%20-%20Historical%20Dictionary%20of%20Popular%20Music.pdf) MusicBrainz also lists *The Black Rider* (1993), an album drawn from the Robert Wilson stage collaboration.[4](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c3aeb863-7b26-4388-94e8-5a240f2be21b)
## The ANTI- years, 1999–2011
*Mule Variations* (1999), the Grammy winner for Best Contemporary Folk Album and a certified Gold record, offers the songs "Hold On," "What's He Building in There," and "Get Behind the Mule."[6](https://www.anti.com/press/tom-waits-to-release-newly-remastered-anti-albums-2/?month=9&year=2026) MusicBrainz lists two 2002 albums, *Blood Money* and *Alice*, followed by *[Real Gone](https://www.edgepedia.org/real-gone-album)* (2004).[4](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c3aeb863-7b26-4388-94e8-5a240f2be21b) *Bad as Me* (2011), Waits' first studio album in seven years, runs from the horn-fueled "Chicago" to the closing barroom chorale "New Year's Eve," and ranges from ballads like "Last Leaf" to the battlefront dispatch "Hell Broke Luce."[6](https://www.anti.com/press/tom-waits-to-release-newly-remastered-anti-albums-2/?month=9&year=2026)
## Recent releases
After a nearly 15-year fallow period, Waits returned in 2026 with "Boots on the Ground," a politically charged collaboration with [Massive Attack](https://www.edgepedia.org/massive-attack) released in April, featuring additional vocals from his son Casey Waits; it was his first new music since *Bad as Me*.[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/listen-to-tom-waits-new-spoken-word-track-the-fly/) • [12](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/tom-waits-and-massive-attack-collaborate-on-new-single-boots-on-the-ground) In 2026 he followed with "The Fly," a spoken-word track co-written with Kathleen Brennan and issued as the B-side to "Boots on the Ground," with a lyric video animated by Casey Waits; both songs appear on a benefit 12-inch vinyl released September 4, with proceeds supporting civil rights and community advocacy organizations.[8](https://pitchfork.com/story/listen-to-tom-waits-new-spoken-word-track-the-fly/) ANTI- has also announced 50th-anniversary vinyl reissues of *Small Change*, and in 2023 remastered editions of the Island-era albums appeared on CD and vinyl.[13](https://www.anti.com/press/?artist=1) • [14](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/tom-waits/discography/)
## References
1. [Tom Waits — Pomona, BandSlate](https://www.bandslate.com/band/tom-waits)
2. [Tom Waits — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-mn0000615119)
3. [Tom Waits, Rhino Records](https://www.rhino.com/article/tom-waits)
4. [Tom Waits, MusicBrainz](https://musicbrainz.org/artist/c3aeb863-7b26-4388-94e8-5a240f2be21b)
5. [Historical Dictionary of Popular Music, Rowman & Littlefield](https://users.iit.demokritos.gr/~k.palaiologos/thymeli/pdf_files/Rowman%20%26%20Littlefield%20-%20Historical%20Dictionary%20of%20Popular%20Music.pdf)
6. [Tom Waits to Release Newly Remastered ANTI- Albums, ANTI- Records press](https://www.anti.com/press/tom-waits-to-release-newly-remastered-anti-albums-2/?month=9&year=2026)
7. [Tom Waits biography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tom-waits-p5778)
8. [Listen to Tom Waits' New Spoken-Word Track "The Fly", Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/story/listen-to-tom-waits-new-spoken-word-track-the-fly/)
9. [Songbook: A Comprehensive Guide To Tom Waits' Evolution, GRAMMY.com](https://www.grammy.com/news/songbook-a-guide-to-tom-waits-discography-videos/)
10. [Gig magazine, May 1977, WorldRadioHistory](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Gig/70s/Gig-1977-05.pdf)
11. [The DIY attitude that drove Tom Waits' finest album, MusicRadar](https://www.musicradar.com/artists/tom-waits-repub)
12. [Tom Waits and Massive Attack collaborate on new single Boots On The Ground, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/bands-artists/tom-waits-and-massive-attack-collaborate-on-new-single-boots-on-the-ground)
13. [Press for Tom Waits, ANTI- Records](https://www.anti.com/press/?artist=1)
14. [DISCOGRAPHY - TOM WAITS, Universal Music Japan](https://www.universal-music.co.jp/tom-waits/discography/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Discographies and musical catalogues › Artist and group discographies › Rock, metal, punk, and indie discographies › Classic and mainstream rock discographies*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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