Tim Smith is an American classical music critic and journalist. Born in Washington, D.C., he received a B.A. in music history from Eisenhower College and an M. A. in music history from Occidental College, Los Angeles. He was a freelance reviewer for The Washington Star and The Washington Post before becoming classical music critic at in 1981. He joined the staff of The Baltimore Sun in 2000, serving as classical music critic and, starting in 2009, also theater critic. He retired in November 2019, after a year handling a third beat as restaurant critic, when the paper began limiting performing arts reviews. He currently has a blog called "By Tim Smith."