2000 and beyond

In July 2000, while on tour in Europe, Hill was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, which forced the cancellation of several dates in that tour. Hill has since recovered.

RCA impresario Clive Davis wanted to do a collaboration record (in the mode of Carlos Santana's successful Supernatural) for their 2003 release Mescalero. As per an interview in Goldmine magazine, singers Pink, Dave Matthews, and Wilco were among the artists slated for the project. The band members declined this offer, and Davis and RCA subsequently shuffled the band to second-tier status.[citation needed]

A comprehensive collection of recordings from the London and Warner Bros. years entitled Chrome, Smoke & BBQ was released in 2003.

In 2004, ZZ Top was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones gave the induction speech, after which ZZ Top gave a brief performance, playing La Grange and Tush.

Expanded and remastered versions of the original studio albums from '70's and '80's are currently in production (removing the digital remixes of the Six Pack compilation). So far only two of these CDs have been released (Tres Hombres and Fandango!). Marketed as Remastered and Expanded, both CDs include additional live tracks which were not present on the original recordings.

As of 2006, it was reported that ZZ Top were recording their 15th studio album, however this album failed to appear, and on September 17, 2006 the band ended their contract with RCA Records and left their manager Bill Ham, president of Lone Wolf management. No reasons were given for these changes. In December 2006, Sanctuary Management added ZZ Top to its roster, however the band is still not currently signed to a label.

An article on Billboard in May of 2007 quotes Dusty as saying that the band is eager to sign a new contract and resume recording in the near future, but no hints at timescales have been made. Dusty did suggest that a live tour DVD is in the works. Whatever the outcome of contract negotiations, the band will have to complete their current tour before any new studio recordings take place. In a later interview on VH1's Top 20 Countdown, the band said A new album will be coming out as soon as our tours are done and when we get a record deal.[citation needed]

The band were honorees by Nickelback at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors on May 24, 2007, along with Ozzy Osbourne, Genesis and Heart.

ZZ Top's Sharp Dressed Man is a song on the video game Guitar Hero, for the Playstation 2 & their song La Grange is a song in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock.

Dusty Hill did a voice over for an episode of King Of The Hill portraying him as a cousin of the shows star Hank Hill.

Billy Gibbons appeared on the Nickelback album All the Right Reasons on the tracks Follow You Home, Fight for All the Wrong Reasons, and Rockstar. He also appeared in the newly released video of Rockstar