

Tom Waits' status as one of the modern greats was confirmed in '11 when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Over the previous four decades, his style veered from the beatnik-inspired jazz-blues of his '70s albums, through the Captain Beefheart-esque experimentalism of the '80s, to the warped gospel blues of his later work. Impossible to pigeonhole and a true music fan's delight.