I started working on this tier list thinking I’d rank every compressor plugin I’ve ever touched… and then I looked at my iLok licenses and saw something like 800. Absolutely not. So I’m breaking this series into categories, and this one is all compressors I’ve actually used enough to have a real opinion on—based on real sessions, real mixes, and years of trial-and-error. And yes: it’s a tier list, which means it’s “YouTube fun,” not a claim that anything “sounds bad.” It’s just my preferences after a microscopic zoom-in. I define the tiers from “god tier” down to “I’m not going to reinstall once I replace my computer,” because that’s genuinely how I think about plugins now. Every computer upgrade is a multi-day headache, so I trim the fat and keep only what consistently earns a spot. In this video I hit the big names—UAD, Waves, FabFilter, Softube, Brainworx/Plugin Alliance, SPL—and talk about what I actually reach for: the UAD Distressor as my one-plugin-does-it-all pick, the UAD LA-3A as my electric guitar cab go-to, and why the Logic stock compressor is way better than people give it credit for. You’ll also hear my hot takes: why I’m over certain “cult classics,” why some LA-2A versions get harsh when you dig in, and why I refuse to pay boutique prices for a clipper when I’m just shaving peaks. The goal is simple: save you money, save you time, and get you to compressors that actually help you mix better.