Eliminator and 1980s

They reached new heights of popularity with the 1983 album Eliminator, boosted to prominence by memorable music videos for the tracks Gimme All Your Lovin', Legs and Sharp Dressed Man each of which featured a small bright red 1933 Ford Coupe 3 window hotrod called The Eliminator and a trio of mysterious, beautiful women who travel around helping various people. The album also featured a distinctive synthesizer-laced sound—a rarity in the blues rock genre—, which added a modern, electronic edge to the music, and helped the album become successful and a fan favorite. Eliminator remains their most successful album to date.

Their next album, Afterburner, mostly featured the same blend of synthesizers, blues rock and the use of sequencers. But on subsequent albums, less and less synth- and sequencer-influenced music is heard. An occasional song with those elements and instruments is included on recent albums as a nod to their past.

In 1987, they released the three-disc set, The ZZ Top Six Pack. When Warner chose to remaster six select albums from 1970 to 1981, they (along with the members of ZZ Top) remixed the back catalog to make it sound like their new music output. All the drum tracks were re-recorded and other random digital effects were applied. In an attempt to fit six albums on three discs, some tracks were faded out sooner than their original release versions. At the same time, individual remixed CD releases were released. The band's actual sixth album, Deg?ello, was spared the Six Pack treatment because of a legal issue involving the estate of Elmore James, whose song Dust My Broom was featured on the album.