Tom Waits – Iron Men of Rock

Little is known about the real Tom Waits, and for the better part of his 40-year career, that's what's made him one of the most intriguing singer-songwriters in the game. After emerging in the '70s as a lounge-rat crooner, he wiled out in the '80s, reinventing himself as the comically gruff chronicler of over-the-top underworld characters he's played ever since.

If you want songs about circus freaks or Filipino dwarves, Waits is your man, but he's also penned some beautiful songs of love and redemption. Check out the moving 'Come On Up to the House,' from 1999's excellent 'Mule Variations,' or 'Ol' 55' and 'Downtown Train,' tunes pretty enough for the Eagles and Rod Stewart to have tackled.