ZZ Top Albums Ranked: Three Same Guys, Three Same Chords, 50 Years of Music

[@garyskadra5236]

#5 - El Loco #4 - Deguello #3 - Tres Hombres #2 - Afterburner # 1 - Eliminator * I have great memories of their 80's albums

[@mkwrockers0099]

My ranking: 15. Afterburner 14. Recycler 13. XXX 12. Mescalero 11. Antenna 10. Eliminator 9. La Futura 8. Rhythmeen 7. El Loco 6. First Album 5. Deguello 4. Tejas 3. Rio Grande Mud 2. Fandango 1. Tres Hombres

[@WilliamRyan-h2y]

I feel you, man. I love Afterburner too. F the haters! :)

[@duanecole2845]

Wow! XXX rocked 😳. Belt buckle 👍

[@davidjackson5818]

1. Tres hombres 2. First album 3. Tejas 4. Fandango 5. Rythmeen 6. Muscularo 7. Deguello 8. El loco 9. Rio grande mud 10. La futura 11. Antenna 12. Eliminator 13. Recycler 14. Afterburner 15 xxx

[@ctfair]

I would have to put the first 3 albums in the top 5. To me, those albums represent who they really are. Though great albums, I would would rank Eliminator and Afterburner towards the bottom because they were so commercialized and an attempt to satisfy the industry. But Rythmeen, XXX, and Antenna would also be in my top 10. All have elements of the good, raw blues sound ZZ Top is best known for.

[@stephenkilby7851]

great video, love zz top, same as you have up to the 90s on vinyl and have everything on cd, xxx is my least favourite as well but my top 5 today because it changes all the time is deguello great blues rock album tres hombre la grange say no more tejas an album i didnt care for now i think is killer, great country rock, agreed asleep in the desert is awesome fandango i love including the live side, again agreed that studio side is killer, blue jean blues wow ,love mexican blackbird first album and mud blues blues blues love them both just raw blues ps l do love eliminator zz top i grow up on, like you i have a soft spot for afterburner cant stop rockin the other albums i do love them just not as much

[@amitytracks]

Thanks, man. I like your list too.

[@SoundlabStudios63]

Thanks for putting Eliminator at #2. All of the Top "purists" hate it, but it's really a great record. It sounds like Texas blues with an 80s twist: something that shouldn't work as well as it does. TV Dinners is hilarious.

[@NJDEVILz86]

Me and leon asked billy to play Hot!Blue&Righteous in pa one knight...said i cant went on to spin the furry instruments....think half the place emptied LS opened that night

[@spaceageexp8679]

I completely agree on having After Burner so high. I may have even placed it a couple of spots higher. Hardcore ZZ Top fans complain about it being so different from classic ZZ. But so what? With a long catalogue, it would be boring if they all sounded the same. It sounds like taking ZZ Top music and doing a super 80s twist. I think its great. Eliminator and Tres Hombres are superior. But After Burner is a great listen. A cool style

[@amitytracks]

Totally agree. I think they brilliantly adapted to the times while still retaining enough of their core identity. And the foundation is that at least some of these were really good, fun songs. They'd be great in whatever style ZZ Top chose to do them in.

[@randytaylor220]

Afterburner above Tejas and Fandango is bold. Tres Hombres should always be 1 or 2.

[@richardriley4415]

I'm a fan of both ZZ Top and your channel. With that in mind, a suggestion. Almost no one will watch 42 minutes unless it's their favorite band. 79 views and 1 comment says that. I skipped through more than half. I see no reason to talk about mediocre albums. I have 3 different pressing of Mud. Not sure of my favorite. In 10 years of posting I've only done two videos that long. Peace.

[@amitytracks]

Thanks for watching and thanks for the suggestion. That's always a tough balance, determining what to include and what to cut. We do have some videos that are much shorter, the artist overviews tend to be the longer ones. I do like to cover the entire studio catalogue with an artist, at least briefly. And also, the mediocre or bad albums can be more fun to talk about than the classics! I'll go check out your channel. Thanks!

[@NJDEVILz86]

Muds the shit

[@sarge9733]

Dusty didn't play bass on Thug. Dusty and Frank didn't play anything on the official release of Eliminator... apart from some rumoured overdubbed real drum fills from Frank, and obviously Dusty's vocals on I Got the Six. It was essentially a Billy Gibbons solo project by the time it got to the studio. Billy himself played the bass solo on Thug, which is the only real bass to be heard on the whole album.

[@tommygraham1820]

Dude, jacked up list! Eliminator at 2? That’s the album they Sold Out with! Afterburner that low on the list? Wasn’t very good!

[@amitytracks]

Disagree on Eliminator. It's brilliant. If by "sold out" you mean sold a ton of albums and made a ton of money, then OK.

[@randytaylor220]

Sold Out is objective. I’d say stylized and upgraded their sound for the new generation i.e. MTV. It’s actually a heavy guitar album. Kinda poppy and rock mixed. However, I wouldn’t put above their early to mid 70’s albums by any stretch. Their grit and Texas sound is heard fully on their 70’s albums. That’s true ZZ.