El Loco (studio album)
by ZZ Top

El Loco by ZZ Top
Year: 1981
Overall rank: 17,203rd   
Average Rating: 
71/100 (from 61 votes)
     
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1981 (249th)
Award Top albums of the 1980s (2,313th)
Award Best albums of all time (17,203rd)

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Product Details
Availability

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eBay
ZZ Top - El Loco [Rhino Hifi] [ROCKtober 2025] NEW Vinyl
Condition: New


eBay
eBay
ZZ TOP: EL LOCO CD! WARNER BROS. DADC PRESSING 3593-2! NEAR MINT!
Condition: Very Good


eBay
eBay
ZZ TOP "El Loco" LP Original 1981 Warner Bros. BSK 3593 EX / VG++
Condition: Used


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ZZ Top bestography

El Loco is ranked 8th best out of 27 albums by ZZ Top on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by ZZ Top is Eliminator which is ranked number 1111 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,566.

ZZ Top album bestography « Higher ranked (10,193rd)
La Futura
This album (17,203rd)
El Loco
Lower ranked (18,737th) »
The Very Baddest

(N.B. Bestographies include all albums by an artist (and their variations), but do not include albums ranked outside the top 100,000).

Upcoming concerts

Jan
17
Sat
20:00
Parliament Funkadelic featuring George Clinton
Star Of The Desert Arena at Primm V, Primm, United States. United States
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Jan
17
Sat
18:30
Tantric
Capital City Music Hall Lower Level, Harrisburg, United States. United States
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Jan
28
Wed
19:30
The Rush Tribute Project
Barrymore Theatre, Madison, United States. United States
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El Loco track list

   The tracks on this album have an average rating of 77 out of 100 (all tracks have been rated).

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Track
Rating/Comments
1.
Average Rating: 82 (30 votes)Comments: View 0
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2.
Average Rating: 76 (17 votes)Comments: View 0
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3.
Average Rating: 76 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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4.
Average Rating: 72 (15 votes)Comments: View 1
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5.
Average Rating: 74 (14 votes)Comments: View 0
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6.
Average Rating: 77 (17 votes)Comments: View 0
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7.
Average Rating: 81 (28 votes)Comments: View 0
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8.
Average Rating: 76 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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9.
Average Rating: 77 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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10.
Average Rating: 78 (19 votes)Comments: View 0
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El Loco rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 17,203rd | 1980s rank: 2,313th | 1981 rank: 249th

El Loco collection

El Loco ratings

Average Rating: 
71/100 (from 61 votes)
   Help Average Rating = (n ÷ (n + m)) × av + (m ÷ (n + m)) × AV
where:
av = trimmed mean average rating an item has currently received.
n = number of ratings an item has currently received.
m = minimum number of ratings required for an item to appear in a 'top-rated' chart (currently 10).
AV = the site mean average rating.

Showing latest 5 ratings for this album. | Show all 61 ratings for this album.

Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 !
10/03/2025 20:47 MasterOfPuppets   80683/100
 
75/100
 !
05/12/2025 17:01 Jboy69   33979/100
 
55/100
 !
03/10/2025 19:22 AAL2014   3,48575/100
 
70/100
 !
08/12/2024 17:18 Tamthebam   22,82269/100
 
60/100
 !
07/21/2024 03:14 AgingVagabond   2672/100

Rating metrics: Help Outliers can be removed when calculating a mean average to dampen the effects of ratings outside the normal distribution. This figure is provided as the trimmed mean. A high standard deviation can be legitimate, but can sometimes indicate 'gaming' is occurring. Consider a simplified example* of an item receiving ratings of 100, 50, & 0. The mean average rating would be 50. However, ratings of 55, 50 & 45 could also result in the same average. The second average might be more trusted because there is more consensus around a particular rating (a lower deviation).
(*In practice, some albums can have several thousand ratings)

This album has a Bayesian average rating of 71.5/100, a mean average of 70.5/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 71.3/100. The standard deviation for this album is 14.3.

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El Loco favourites

Showing all 3 members who have added this album as a favourite

El Loco comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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Rating:  
75/100
From 01/28/2022 07:38 | #280204
Still this is ZZ top, poppy.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/02/2019 04:25 | #228540
Two hits and lots of filler. While this album has fallen by the wayside, it does signify the beginning of the transition from cool blues boogie to slick 80s MTV fare.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/20/2016 20:25 | #160363
This must be their weakest record. With Leila as a real low point.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 07/14/2015 16:58 | #145741
Pearl Necklace and Tube Snake Bookie are good, the rest not so much. I prefer the 70s version of ZZ Top.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
85/100
From 08/08/2013 03:12 | #83493
After their classic 70s blues-rock but before their MTV run, El Loco is largely forgotten but a very solid album. Pearl Necklace and Tube Snake Boogie are still airplay staples to this day, and Leila was a chart hit and one of the prettiest tracks they've ever done. The weirdness is turned up to 11 in the second half of the album, and I love every minute of it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1981
1. Moving Pictures by Rush
2. Computerwelt by Kraftwerk
3. Discipline by King Crimson
4. Juju by Siouxsie And The Banshees
5. My Life In The Bush Of Ghosts by Brian Eno & David Byrne
6. Time by Electric Light Orchestra
7. Faith by The Cure
8. Dare by The Human League
9. Damaged by Black Flag
10. Deceit by This Heat
11. Youth Of America by Wipers
12. Tattoo You by The Rolling Stones
13. Fire Of Love by The Gun Club
14. Ghost In The Machine by The Police
15. The Ascension by Glenn Branca
16. Heaven Up Here by Echo & The Bunnymen
17. Face Value by Phil Collins
18. Killers by Iron Maiden
19. Movement by New Order
20. Nightclubbing by Grace Jones
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