The thing that always gets me about ZZ Top is their big sound for being just a three-piece band.
Of course, their sound was made bigger with more tracks on recordings, but on the famous "Eliminator" album that included one of their signature hits "Gimme All Your Lovin'" in 1981, Billy Gibbons, Dusty Hill and Frank Beard (the one without the beard) did it all -- vocals, guitars, bass, drums, and keys.
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That has to be taken into consideration when you're putting them up against other Classic Rock groups. This is a trio with a huge sound that's been going strong and loud since 1970.
ZZ Top has survived decades while other bands have come and gone, and they're still one of the loudest. They are called a "blues rock" or "boogie rock" band, and sometimes get thrown into the hard rock and Southern rock categories. Whatever you want to label them, they rock. Period.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004.
Here's one of my personal favorites from ZZ Top -- "Francine" -- which is actually from their first album: