We report an experimental comparison of three-photon-absorption resonances (N-resonances) for the D-1 and D-2 optical transitions of thermal Rb-87 vapor. We find that the D-2 N-resonance has better contrast. a broader linewidth, and a more symmetric line shape than the D-1 N-resonance. Taken together, these factors imply superior performance for frequency standards operating on alkali D-2 N-resonances, in contrast with coherent population trapping resonances, for which the D-2 transition provides poorer frequency standard performance than the D-1 transition. (c) 2006 Optical Society of America.