ZZ Top – Eliminator
– Power Up
This is where the little ol’ band from Texas strapped a rocket to their blues and shot straight into the MTV era. Eliminator isn’t just a rock album—it’s a full-throttle, chrome-plated, synth-dusted ride through neon highways and dive bars that never close. The guitars still snarl, the rhythm section still swings like a barroom door, but now there’s a slickness, a mechanical precision that turns the grooves into something hypnotic.

What makes it stick is the attitude—cool, cocky, and dripping with effortless swagger. The hooks hit fast, the riffs stay lodged in your brain, and every beat feels like it was designed to make heads nod and tires screech. It’s blues rock wired for the future, where Texas grit meets drum machines and somehow still feels like a dirt-road joyride.
Some fans of the grittier early days may have balked at the polish, but the band knew exactly what they were doing. They made a record that didn’t just sound good in a muscle car—it felt like one. Forty years later, it still revs up like a V8 with a full tank.