1. Tom Traubert's Blues
2. Hoist That Rag
3. Martha
4. 16 Shells from a thirty ought six
5. Alice
6. Goin' Out West
7. Ruby's Arms
8. You Can Never Hold Back Spring
9. Fish and Bird
10. Jesus Gonna Be Here

That's my take on things.

Oh, jeez. This would take some time and thought.

I can tell you two things for certain, though: 1) most of my list would be Asylum material and 2) Grapefruit Moon would be in the top 5.

I began to make a list, threw it away, remade another one and thought the first one was better and now I'm kind of lost, Tom Waits is a tough guy to make lists with

impossible.

I'm willing to attempt. Interestingly, from this list, two of my favorite records aren't represented at all. But there you have that.

1. Hold On
2. Long Way Home
3. Clap Hands
4. Walk Away
5. Make it Rain
6. Hoist that Rag
7. Time
8. Downtown Train
9. 2:19
10. Come on Up to the House

nice to see come on up to the house on someone's list

This is NOT in order (well chronological order). Just what I might broadly consider my top 10

1-Martha
2-San Diego Serendade
3-Tom Taubert's blues
4-Romeo is Bleeding
5. Mr. Siegel
6. Singapore
7. Cold Cold Ground
8. Black Wings
9. Hold On
10. Starving in the Belly of a Whale
11. Walk Away
12. Long Way Home

Shit--I guess that's 12. I can't really narrow this down further

Almost making the list...

I hope I don't Fall In Love With You
16 Shells...
Swordfishtrombones
Gun Street Girl
Time
Innocent When You Dream
Get Behind the Mule
Come on Up to the House
Misery is the River of the World
The Part you Throw Away
How's It Gonna End
Make it Rain
Road to Peace
The Fall of Troy
All the Time
On the Road

So i guessthat would be my top 28

Well, if we're cheating, stip, here's my top 20. There's still not but just one song from before the 80's, which is fine (his 70's work is amazing, and even by itself would make him one of my favorite artists, but it just doesn't even compare). I dig this cat.

1. Hold On
2. Long Way Home
3. Clap Hands
4. Walk Away
5. Make it Rain
6. Hoist that Rag
7. Time
8. Downtown Train
9. 2:19
10. Come on Up to the House
11. Goin' Out West
12. Just the Right Bullets
13. Singapore
14. Old Shoes (Pictures and Postcards)
15. Mr. Siegal
16. Who Are You
17. Hang Down Your Head
18. Don't Go into that Barn
19. Swordfishtrombone
20. Pony

great list, especially cool to see these songs listed. i think there's probably upwards of 100 waits songs that i consider to be can't miss absolute classics and that's just ridiculous when you think about it.

just the right bullets should be on my list as well, and I think I'd also add old shoes and picture postcards

It's easy to forget bullets since I don't like the blackrider outside of a handful of songs (the black rider, lucky day overture, just the right bullets, crossroads)--but those songs are gems

The guy is offensively consistent in his greatness.

clap hands, gun street girl and 9th & hennepin would surely be on any list i conjured up.

i'm kinda surprised about 9th and hennepin. i always thought that was one of his weaker spoken word tracks, which i generally think are quite brilliant.

what's sort of odd with Tom Waits is that the songs of his I don't care for (and there are a bunch--I'm not sure he has a single album where I love every song) are not offensive to me. A pearl jam song or an REM song I don't really like sticks out in a way Wait's songs do not

Interesting. I'd say that, from Swordfishtrombones on, really only the odd instrumental leaves me uninterested. Well, Frank's Wild Years has a handful of mehs.

Top 10 most underrated/underrapreciated Waits songs

1. All of Nighthawks at the Diner
2. Virginia Avenue
3. Straight to the Top (Vegas)
4. Soldier's Things
5. Take Care of all of the Children
6. Another Man's Vine
7. Strange Weather
8. Two Sisters
9. Murder in the Red Barn
10. Barcolle

I like take care of all my children and murder int he red barn
strange weather is okay
I love another man's vine

The rest of those I could do wtihout...

What ????? You can do w/o Nighthawks ! Man this will not stand, this agression will not stand !

best album to start with him?

doesn't matter, just get a couple random ones to begin with and you'll have gotten the rest within a few months

rain dogs?
i need something more focused on his voice than rocking