'Time Out' is a 1959 album (originally issued as CS 8192) by The Dave Brubeck Quartet, based upon the use of time signatures that were unusual for jazz (mainly waltz or double-waltz time, but also 9/8, and most famously 5/4). The style is a subtle blend of cool and West Coast jazz.



Although the album was intended as an experiment (Columbia president Goddard Lieberson was willing to chance releasing it) and received negative reviews by critics upon its release, it became one of the best-known and biggest-selling jazz albums, reaching number two in the U.S. Billboard "Pop Albums" chart, and produced one single — Paul Desmond's penned Take Five — that reached number five in the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and that was the first jazz instrumental to sell a million copies.



In 2005, 'Time Out' was one of 50 recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. It was also listed on the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.