Aimee,
I've got to warn you ... Tom Waits could be described as an acquired taste. He has an unusual gruff/gravely voice but a lot of his songs/words are amongst the best. It's taken me ages to get my wife to listen to the odd track by either Tom Waits or Van Morrison and appreciate just how good they are. It's something that has always baffled me about her as she has such good taste...after all she did pick me !!
regards Ritchie