Best R&B Girl Groups - Creators For The Culture

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The best R&B girl groups of all-time are all stunning, dynamic, and have all played a part in changing the landscape of music throughout the years. Check out our list featuring the ten best to ever do it.

Destiny’s Child

Teenage hit makers and the group that birthed one of the greatest entertainers of all-time. Of course Destiny’s Child has to make this list. Beyoncé, Kelly, LeToya and LaTavia (and eventually Michelle Williams) simply released hit after hit after hit. “No, No, No, …,” “Say My Name”, “Jumpin’ Jumpin’”, “Independent Woman Part 1”, “Survivor”, and “Bootylicious” solidified the group as trendsetters and an international sensation.

En Vouge

Cindy, Maxine, Dawn and Terry, were simply put, one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, period. En Vogue are in the top 10 of the best-selling girl groups of all-time, selling 20 million albums worldwide. All four ladies could sing lead and contributed to the group’s hit list. Those hits include “Hold On”, “My Lovin’ (You’re Never Gonna Get It),” “Giving Him Something He Can Feel,” “Free Your Mind” and “Don’t Let Go (Love)”. All both iconic songs and music videos.

Klymaxx

Klymaxx was truly a one of a kind girl group. The all-girl band, playing every instrument, writing their own lyrics, and bringing all the swag. Linking up with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, the group dropped hits including the club bangers “Meeting In The Ladies Room” and “The Men All Pause,” and the slow jam power ballads “I’d Still Say Yes”, and “I Miss You”. Klymaxx was an early pioneer of the girl-power musical movement.

Pointer Sisters

Real life sisters June, Bonnie and Anita were crossover stars in the early 1980s. They piqued the music world’s interest with tracks like “He’s So Shy,” and “Slow Hand.” But it was their 1983 album that made them pop stars and put them on the path for R&B immortality as well. The album, “Break Out” featured four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 top 10 hits. “Automatic,” “Jump (for My Love),” “I’m So Excited,” “Neutron Dance.” And since, the Pointer Sisters’ songs are have been sampled numerous times by hip-hop and R&B artists and used in countless commercials keeping the sister’s music live for generations to come.

Sister Sledge

Again, real-life sisters Joni, Debbie, Kim and Kathy Sledge were the granddaughters of opera singers, so singing was in their blood. Sister Sledge was formed in 1972 and were helped to achieve superstar status working with production duo Nile Rodgers and Bernard Edwards of the disco group, Chic. Together they created two of the biggest disco hits of all-time with “We Are Family,” which reached number one on the R&B charts and number two on the pop charts and “He’s the Greatest Dancer” — another R&B number one and Top 10 pop single. Their songs have been sampled by many artists, most notably Will Smith on the biggest-selling single of his career, “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It”.

The Supremes

The trailblazers, the prototypes, the quintessential girl group, The Supremes. Their early days with Diana Ross, Florence Ballard and Mary Wilson played a major role in creating the Motown sound, and the group produced hit after hit, including “Stop In The Name of Love,” “Baby Love,” “You Can’t Hurry Love” and “You Keep Me Hangin’ On.” And the trio became the first all-female group to reach number one on the Billboard 200. The group cemented their place in music history and have been honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Rock ‘N Roll Hall of Fame.

SWV

Naming your group Sisters With Voices means you gotta bring it vocally. SWV were a group at the forefront of the hip hop soul sound movement. Blending those hard-hitting beats and their melodic vocals, hits like “Weak,” “I’m So Into You,” “You’re the One” “Rain” “Can We” and the remake of Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” titled “Right Here/Human Nature,” helped Taj, Coko and Lele become one of the top-selling female groups of all time, selling over 15 million records and cementing their spot as one of the best R&B girl groups ever.

TLC

TLC is THE best-selling American female group of all-time with a mind-boggling 85 million records sold. To put that in today’s terms, an artist would need to accumulate 127 BILLION streams to equate to that sales number. With their unique blend of R&B and hip hop, trendsetting fashion and a vibe all their own, TLC was a true force in the entertainment industry. Their list of mega-hits include “Creep,” “Waterfalls,” “No Scrubs” and “Unpretty.” Sadly, the ladies lost their friend and group member, Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, in 2002 but the impact T-Boz, Left Eye, and Chili made will never be forgotten or matched.

Total

Total was Diddy’s first female group on Bad Boy and helped define the legendary producer’s blend of hip-hop and R&B. Kima, Keisha and Pam sang hooks on the Notorious B.I.G’s breakthrough single, “Juicy,” and appeared on hit singles for LL Cool J (“Loungin’/Who Do U Love?”), Foxxy Brown (“I Can’t) and another Biggie smash, “Hypnotize.” They released two platinum albums of their own albums and their hits include “Can’t You See?”, “Kissing You”, the Missy collabo, “Trippin,” and “Sittin’ Home.”

Xscape

Xscape was legendary producer Jermaine Dupri’s take on 90s R&B. Tiny, Kandi, Tamika and LaTocha. Dupri immediately came out jamming with the ultimate laid back vibe single, “Just Kick It”. The varied voices of the two leads Kandi and LaTocha helped them stand out from the crowd. Their other hits included “Understanding”, “Feels So Good”, and “Who Can I Run To,” “Do You Want To” and “My Little Secret” all of which helped the sassy quartet sell over 7 million records worldwide.