100 Best Girl Groups of All Time
I have been an online writer for over six years. I am passionate about books, philosophy, music, and the music industry.
In recent years a number of female pop groups have made a big impression in the male-dominated music industry. While girl groups have been prominent in every decade of music, in recent times all female groups have taken harmony singing, fashion, style, and choreographed dance moves to a whole new level. Women are paving new pathways in music, and this is just the beginning.
The list below showcases an epic collection of girl groups from different decades. If you have a view, opinion, or suggestion, let us know in the comments section.
Top 10 Best Girl Groups of All Time
- Blackpink
- Little Mix
- Fifth Harmony
- Destiny’s Child
- Spice Girls
- The Pussycat Dolls
- TLC
- Icona Pop
- En Vogue
- Sugababes
What Is a Girl Group?
A girl group is a musical act that comprises of female singers who sing together. The term “girl group” is used as an umbrella term to give identity to the new wave of female pop groups. While all-female bands are often associated with rock music or referenced with acts from other genres that play their own musical instruments, girl groups are purely identified as vocal and dance ensembles in the realms pop music.
Although the terminology differs universally, girl groups may also be referred to as “girl bands” to differentiate in accordance with musical style and genre. Aside from their signature vocal harmonies, all-female pop groups are also recognized for their supremely stylish fashion sense and scintillating dance choreography.
#11—20
11. Bananarama
12. Girls Aloud
13. The Supremes
14. Twice
15. All Saints
16. Girls Generation
17. Atomic Kitten
18. Red Velvet
Read More From Spinditty
19. Expose
20. 2NE1
Pioneering Female Singing Groups of the ‘40s and ‘50s
Some of the pioneering girl groups emerged in the ‘40s and ‘50s. A number of vocal groups in these decades combined influences of swing, jazz, boogie-woogie, R&B, a cappella, and doo-wop. Many acts were recognized for their distinctive close harmony singing style that comprised of intricately-melodic vocal architecture. Female singing groups in these decades performed extensively at big-time theatres. Mentioned below are close harmony singing groups who played a pivotal role in paving the way for a new era of female groups
- The Andrew Sisters
- Three X Sisters
- The Boswell Sisters
- The Chordettes
- The McGuire Sisters
- The Fontane Sisters
- The DeCastro Sisters
#21—40
21. Sister Sledge
22. f(x)
23. Itzy
24. The Saturdays
25. The Pointer Sisters
26. SWV
27. Momoland
28. The Ronettes
29. Salt-N-Pepa
30. T-ara
31. B*Witched
32. The Marvellettes
33. GFriend
34. Eternal
35. Stooshe
36. Wonder Girls
37. Morning Musume
38. Baccara
39. The Nolans
40. Mis-Teeq
Female Vocal Groups in the ‘60s and ‘70s
Doo-wop, rock n roll, R& B and traditional pop became the flavor of the '60s. As the musical landscape changed, and racially segregated barriers started diminishing, all-black female vocal groups with a strong influence of choir music came into prominence. Innumerable songs by girl groups in the ‘60s expanded the concept and idea of girlhood through an identity associated with race, class, and gender. All-female formats became hugely popular in different genres during the ‘60s.
With the ‘70s came an element of glam among female singing groups. Numerous pop acts embraced a glamorous image, with psychedelic glitter and color becoming the preferred choice during performances. Extravagant matching outfits and identical choreography started becoming the new norm as the disco craze gained momentum. A large number of dance-oriented girl groups had tremendous chart-topping success in the late ‘70s. R&B songs laced with elements of disco became immensely popular in mainstream.
#41—60
41. The Shirelles
42. Monrose
43. The Veronicas
44. Wilson Phillips
45. The Shangri-las
46. G.R.L.
47. Martha and the Vandellas
48. Xscape
49. (G)I-dle
50. Mamamoo
51. Sistar
52. The Lennon Sisters
53. AKB48
54. Rouge
55. APink
56. No Angels
57. Honeyz
58. Iz*One
59. Nina Sky
60. Danity Kane
Female Pop Groups in the ‘80s and ‘90s
Contemporary R&B became magnanimous in the ‘80s. Although female pop groups adopted sophisticated production techniques to make their music accessible to mainstream audiences, they remained true to their roots of harmonized vocals. As the disco craze started fading away in the early 80s, a new wave of influences morphed with disco-like beats took shape to give songs a unique identity. Alongside new wave and synthpop, dance-pop and europop became hugely popular. Female vocal duos burst onto the scene and changed the musical landscape with their sophisticated disco-pop sound.
With the ‘90s began the era of dance pop girl groups. New jack swing, a fusion of dance-pop and hip hop production techniques combined with the urban contemporary R&B became exceedingly popular in the realms of pop music. A large number of dance ensembles with diverse influences of contemporary R&B, new jack swing, hip hop, funk, and soul took the world by storm with their eclectic blend of dance music and vocal harmonies. Some of the best-selling girl groups in music history emerged in the ‘90s. Both American female groups and British female groups achieved worldwide success with their albums and singles. A great number of female acts of the ‘90s are credited to reshaping and diverting pop music in a new direction.
#61—80
61. The Three Degrees
62. Luv’
63. Miss A
64. t.A.T.u.
65. Girlicious
66. The Emotions
67. EXID
68. Dream
69. Brown Eyed Girls
70. Serebro
71. O’G3NE
72. Total
73. Las Ketchup
74. After School
75. Queensberry
76. Mary Mary
77. Loona
78. SHeDAISY
79. ZOEgirl
80. Labelle
Pop Girl Groups Post 2000
Since the year 2000, a new wave of pop girl groups has emerged. Electronic influences have become a prominent part of dance-oriented songs. With EDM culture becoming a mainstream entity in the 2000s, a number of female vocal groups started restructuring their sound by incorporating elements of synth-pop, electro, house, trap and dub. The trend of female groups collaborating with DJs to produce high-energy EDM dance tracks brought about a paradigm shift in musical structure and took dance-pop in a new path breaking direction.
Post 2010, dance pop female acts from Asia have had groundbreaking success with their brand of music and choreography. While J-pop did make a big impression in the realms of mainstream, it was K-pop girl groups that mesmerized audiences with their fiery brand of music, audiovisual content, fashion, style, and choreography. Thanks to management agencies and talent scouts in South Korea, female idol groups have taken entertainment to a whole new level with their breathtakingly beautiful pop music that encompasses a wide spectrum of audio-visual technology.
#81—100
81. Pink Lady
82. Oh My Girl
83. The Cheetah Girls
84. SING (Super Impassioned Net Generation)
85. The Pipettes
86. Girlfriend
87. Momoiro Clover Z
88. AOA
89. The Chantels
90. Blaque
91. Aespa
92. Mel and Kim
93. Bardot
94. Zhane
95. WJSN
96. Solid HarmoniE
97. Everglow
98. CLC
99. The Blossoms
100. Cleopatra
Other Notable Girl Groups
- High Inergy
- Sweet Sensation
- Perfume
- Excellence
- Lois Lane
- Tic Tac Toe
- Neon Jungle
- Nogizaka46
- Wild Orchid
- L5
- Girls Can’t Catch
- Treble
- Lovelyz
- Secret
- Dreamcatcher
- Lucky Star
- Rocket Girls 101
- The Crystals
- Cherish
- Strawberry Switchblade
- Pump Girls
- Fin.K.L
- Hot
- Nine Muses
- Jewelry
- Changing Faces
- Nobody’s Angel
- The Toys
- Pandora
- Wendy & Lisa
- SNH48
- Hello Venus
- Love and Sas
- The Weather Girls
- Girls
- Prizmmy
- K3
- Bandana
- Mocha Girls
- Speed
- Precious
- West End Girls
- I.O.I
- Young Divas
- Dal Shabet
- Romans
- P.Y.T.
- Sweets
- Nonstop
- Lollipop
- Seduction
- Weather Girls
- June’s Diary
- No Secrets
- ZYX
- Rainbow
- The Honeys
- Saphir
- The Braxtons
- Preluders
- Girl’s Day
- Alisha’s Attic
- The9
- S.E.S.
- 4Minute
- DIA
- 702
- The Voices
- Ladies’ Code
- N’Versity
- Electrik Red
- Divine
- Yumemiru Adolescence
- NiziU
- Fanatics
- Madasun
- E’voke
- The GTOs
- LaViVe
- Berryz Kobo
- Maywood
- Girl Authority
- Akishibu Project
- TrueBliss
- Kiruba
- Clique Girlz
- Trin-i-tee 5:7
- Juice=Juice
- Taiyo to Ciscomoon
- Boy Krazy
- Mania
- Teen Queens
- 4th Impact
- Wassup
- RichGirl
- Laboum
- Sonamoo
- Tha’ Rayne
- Before Dark
- Sister2Sister
- Flans
- Nylon
- The Cake
- Afro-dite
- SeeYa
- The Mess
- Silver Convention
- Feminnem
- The Cheeky Girls
- Allure
- Reflex
- Ventino
- Destinee & Paris
- Moje 3
- Soluna
- Ex Girlfriend
- Bellefire
- TrySail
- Isyss
- 3LW
- Thriii
- Nu Virgos
- Shakaya
- Millionaires
- 411
- The Reynolds Girls
- Leandah
- The Flirtations
- Sweet Inspirations
- Me N Ma Girls
- S.O.A.P.
- Jade
- One Voice
- Las Cheris
- Sisters Love
- The Sequence
- Hey Girl
- Centerfold
- Orange Caramel
- Vanity 6
- Sistanova
- Team Shachi
- Point of Grace
- SOS
- Mango
- Tom Gurl Four
- Jeans
- Shiritsu Ebisu Chugaku
- Cute
- GWSN
- First Choice
- Leading Ladies
- EyeQ
- Up Up Girls Kakko Kari
- Pepsi & Shirlie
- Wonderland
- The Poni-Tails
- Smile.dk
- The Jaynetts
- E-Girls
- The Bobbettes
- Rev. from DVL
- N-Tyce
- OMG
- Dolly Rockers
- The Jewels
- Mary Jane Girls
- The Velvettes
- Fairies
- Lemonescent
- Shampoo
- Twins
- Coconuts Musume
- Tiny-G
- Girl Thing
- Dolly Dots
- Vanilla
- The Angels
- 22/7
- The Dixie Cups
- Slinkee Minx
- Queens
- MoKenStef
- Belle Epoque
- Parade
- Tokyo Performance Doll
- Stellar
- Hi-5
- Clea
- Four of Diamonds
- The Paris Sisters
- Out of Eden
- Jamali
- The Raelettes
- Mini Viva
- Slumber Party Girls
- Frisz
- Popu Lady
- Uni.T
- Sugar Jones
- Baby Vox
- Quarteto em Cy
- Little Trees
- Tokyo Girls’ Style
- SKE48
- The Chiffons
- Nature
- Tu
- Chocolat
- The Rounder Girls
- Angerme
- Marcie and the Cookies
- S.H.E.
- Bestie
- IQ
- The Murmaids
- The Poppies
- Crayon Pop
- Q-Genz
- Play
- The Grace
- Bellini
- Sakura Gakuin
- Innosense
- 3rd Faze
- Mini-Moni
- Spica
- Happiness
- Eden’s Crush
- Supernova
- Belle Amie
© 2021 Ansel Pereira