Closing Time is the debut album by American singer-songwriter Tom Waits, released on March 6, 1973, on Asylum Records. Produced and arranged by former Lovin' Spoonful member Jerry Yester, Closing Time was the first of seven of Waits' major releases by Asylum.

The album is noted for being predominantly folk influenced although Waits intended Closing Time to be "a jazz, piano-led album." Upon release, the album was mildly successful in the United States, although it did not chart and received little attention from music press in the United Kingdom and elsewhere internationally. Critical reaction to Closing Time was positive. The album's only single, "Ol' '55", attracted attention due to a cover version by Waits's more popular label mates, the Eagles. Other songs from the album were covered by Tim Buckley and Bette Midler. The album was certified Gold in the UK and has gained a contemporary cult following among rock fans. Since its release, the album has been reissued on LP in 1976, on CD in 1992, 1999 and 2018. Also on 180 gram LP in 2010.

Tom Waits began his musical career in 1969, performing every Monday night at The Troubadour, a venue in West Hollywood, California. Waits' setlist at these series of shows, described as "hootenanny nights", consisted primarily of Bob Dylan covers, although it included songs which would later appear on Closing Time and its successor, The Heart of Saturday Night (1974). Among the songs performed were "Ice Cream Man", "Virginia Avenue", "Ol' '55", "I Hope That I Don't Fall in Love with You", "Shiver Me Timbers" and "Diamonds on my Windshield."

Around this time, Waits began working as a doorman at a San Diego, California, club, The Heritage, which was a coffee house by day. In November 1970, Waits performed his first paid show at The Heritage, earning $25 for his performance. At a Troubadour performance in summer 1971, Herb Cohen inadvertently spotted Waits and became his manager. Through Cohen's contacts, Waits recorded demos in Los Angeles in late summer 1971 with producer Robert Duffey, later released as The Early Years in two volumes, against Waits' wishes.

In order to focus on his career, Waits relocated from San Diego to Los Angeles in early 1972 and performed more frequently at The Troubadour, where David Geffen discovered him performing "Grapefruit Moon." The performance, which "floored" Geffen, led Geffen to negotiate with Waits' manager Cohen, and Waits signed to Asylum Records within a month.

Before recording the album, Waits became friends with his designated producer Jerry Yester and one afternoon in early 1972 recorded a pre-production tape in Yester's residence. The instrumentation, recording arrangements, and musicians were also discussed during this session with Waits making it "absolutely clear he wanted a standup bass player." Drummer John Seiter, guitarist Peter Klimes, trumpeter Tony Terran and additional guitarist Shep Cooke were recruited through Yester and through Seiter, jazz bassist Bill Plummer was hired.

The main recording sessions for Closing Time took place at Sunset Sound Recorders in Hollywood, California—where Buffalo Springfield, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and the Doors had previously recorded—in Spring 1972. Yester fronted production and the sessions were held almost immediately after Waits' record deal, and were described as "quick and efficient." Waits was "nervous, but confident enough in his own material" during the beginning of the sessions; however, as the sessions progressed, Waits and Yester "were pulling against each other" over the direction which the album would take, with Waits wanting a jazz-laden record and Yester more focused on producing a folk-based album. Despite this, Waits was "absolutely communicative" with his fellow musicians, articulating his direction and using metaphors to describe how he wanted the songs to sound.

The sessions took a total of ten days, with the first two days focusing on "getting used to [the studio]." Both Waits and Yester wanted to record during the evening, but as no slots were available, it was recorded through the morning and afternoon "from ten to five every day." During the recording of "Ol' '55", Seiter contributed backing vocals and "came up with a perfect harmony line that started faintly before the chorus even began." The sessions concluded with a total of nine songs completed. Though unsatisfied with the number of songs, a second recording session was arranged the following week in United Western Recorders. The final session for Closing Time began the following Sunday, with guest musicians Arni Egilsson replacing Plummer and Jesse Erlich performing cello.