Rio Grande Mud
by ZZ Top

Rio Grande Mud by ZZ Top
Year: 1972
Overall rank: 18,995th   Overall chart history
Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 66 votes)
  Ratings distribution   Average rating history
Accolades:
Award Top albums of 1972 (257th)
Award Top albums of the 1970s (2,392nd)
Award Best albums of all time (18,995th)

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Product Details
Availability

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ZZ Top Rio Grande Mud (CD) Album
Condition: Brand New


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ZZ Top -Rio Grande Mud 180G Color Vinyl (Rhino Start Your Ear Off Right) Ltd Ed.
Condition: Used


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ZZ TOP RIO GRANDE MUD LP 1972 ORIGINAL PRESS GREAT CONDITION! VG++/VG+!!A
Condition: Used


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ZZ Top bestography

Rio Grande Mud is ranked 9th best out of 27 albums by ZZ Top on BestEverAlbums.com.

The best album by ZZ Top is Eliminator which is ranked number 1110 in the list of all-time albums with a total rank score of 1,557.

ZZ Top album bestography « Higher ranked (17,200th)
El Loco
This album (18,995th)
Rio Grande Mud
Lower ranked (19,173rd) »
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

May
05
Tue
George Thorogood & The Destroyers "The Baddest Show On Earth"
Capital One Hall, Tysons, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 
Mar
27
Fri
Miguel: CAOS Tour
The Wellmont Theater, Montclair, United States. United States
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Apr
30
Thu
That Handsome Devil
Empire Underground, Albany, United States. United States
Tickets from Ticketmaster Get tickets
 

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Rio Grande Mud rankings

Rankings summary
Overall rank: 18,995th | 1970s rank: 2,392nd | 1972 rank: 257th

Rio Grande Mud collection

Rio Grande Mud ratings

Average Rating: 
76/100 (from 66 votes)
  Ratings distribution 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 66 ratings for this album.

Sort Sort by
RatingDate updatedMemberAlbum ratingsAvg. album rating
 
70/100
 
01/03/2026 05:23 Exist-en-ciel  Ratings distribution  7,81970/100
 
80/100
 
12/19/2025 00:26 mrmcrook  Ratings distribution  1,04177/100
 
60/100
 
10/06/2025 17:31 Olli  Ratings distribution  6,75563/100
 
80/100
 
10/03/2025 20:39 MasterOfPuppets  Ratings distribution  82483/100
 
80/100
 
05/12/2025 17:01 Jboy69  Ratings distribution  36479/100

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 is rated in the top 5% of all albums on BestEverAlbums.com. This album has a Bayesian average rating of 76.1/100, a mean average of 76.7/100, and a trimmed mean (excluding outliers) of 76.7/100. The standard deviation for this album is 10.5.

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Rio Grande Mud favourites

Showing all 7 members who have added this album as a favourite

Rio Grande Mud comments

Showing all 5 comments |
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Rating:  
80/100
From 12/19/2025 00:28 | #312202
Good early days album from them, when they thrived on barroom blues and boogie.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/12/2025 18:09 | #307566
The Texas Boogie band's 2nd release and a step forward from their eponymous release. The release setting the stage for even greater things to come. Profiles Billy Gibbons into the forefront as a premier journeyman blues rock guitarist paralleling the great Duane Allman. The cuts rock hard and set the tone for their next solid gold release "Tres Hombres". No overdubbing here. Just a pure "Hell on Wheels" assault of Rock & Roll.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | +1 votes (1 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
80/100
From 02/04/2022 14:41 | #280712
Solid TOP, quality is consistent and cohesive.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
Rating:  
70/100
From 01/02/2019 04:31 | #228544
Not a great album overall, but Just Got Paid is one of their greatest songs ever.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
From 01/31/2015 14:26 | #133347
They pretty much have their signature sound down now. They just need some more memorable songs to go with it.
Helpful?  (Log in to vote) | 0 votes (0 helpful | 0 unhelpful)
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Best Albums of 1972
1. The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars by David Bowie
2. Exile On Main St. by The Rolling Stones
3. Pink Moon by Nick Drake
4. Close To The Edge by Yes
5. Harvest by Neil Young
6. Transformer by Lou Reed
7. Machine Head by Deep Purple
8. Thick As A Brick by Jethro Tull
9. Ege Bamyası by Can
10. Foxtrot by Genesis
11. Clube Da Esquina by Milton Nascimento / Lô Borges
12. #1 Record by Big Star
13. Can't Buy A Thrill by Steely Dan
14. Super Fly by Curtis Mayfield
15. Acabou Chorare by Novos Baianos
16. Talking Book by Stevie Wonder
17. Eat A Peach by The Allman Brothers Band
18. Vol 4 by Black Sabbath
19. Neu! by Neu!
20. Argus by Wishbone Ash
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