My Top 10 Girl Groups of All Time! (2 Viewers)

[Drew_B]

I've actually done this list on quite a few times. But looking back last time I did it I feel like a couple groups actually didn't belong.

So now I've updated this list with what I'm positive is my correct ten favorites.

I have chosen these ten groups based on 3 categories. How much I like their music, my connection to the members, and how often I watch any and all of their content on youtube.

But first I want to give a shout out/honorable mention to three groups I discovered this year that I absolutley fell in love with.

1. Itzy. No doubt will be in top ten when it's all said and done but rightnow they are just too new and don't have enough content yet.

2. Busters. This two year old nugu group absolutley SLAYED me with their recent release "Pinky Promise". The mini album was so good I bought thephysical. Come to love the members so much this group might actually be #11 right now.

3. Limesoda. "Wave". That's all i'm going to say. Go watch it on youtube.Enough said.

So out of 5,000 kpop girl groups since the 1990s these are my ten favorites. And in order!

10. Gugudan.
Debut: 2016
Bias: Kang Mina
Favorite Song: I'm Not that Type

Why: My favorite post IOI group Gugudan perfectly captures the magic of kpop with great visuals, strong vocals, catchy songs, and just overall fun factor. With their last comeback "I'm Not that Type" Gugudan has proven there is no concept they can't conquer. With the departure of Hyeyeon they will never be at full strength again but unfortunaly that may not be a problem as rumors are circulating they could be disbanding early next year.

9. Rainbow
Debut: 2009
Bias: Jaekyung
Favorite Song: Sweet Dream

Why: In what I've always considered the most underrated girl group in kpop history Rainbow has suffered from the middle child syndrome their entire career. Much like f(x) and Miss A they have always been in the shadow of their bigger sister. Kara. But that hasn't stopped them from releasing some of the best singles of the second generation. With songs like "A", "Mach", "Sweet Dream", "Sunshine", and "Black Swan" Rainbow should have been a serious rival to T-ara. Also I don't care what anyone says"Gossip Girl" is my freaking JAM.

8. Berry Good.
Debut: 2014
Bias: Johyun
Favorite Song: Don't Believe

Why: Berry Good is one of those groups that just makes me smile. Their 2018 mini album "Free Travel" is a must listen and is in my top 5 mini albums of all time. It's no secret that Johyun has a lot to do with my love for this group. She is without question one of the sexiest idols of the third generation but we also can't forget to mention an absolute masterpiece of kpop. A song called "Don't Believe". If you haven't heard this song then stop reading this now and go listen to it. I don't care if you come back to this or not. Just go introduce that song into your life. As a second gen stan Berry Good is a true gem that third gen stans should be proud to claim.

7. Sonamoo.
Debut: 2014
Bias: D.ana and Newsun (can't decide)
Favorite Song: Deja Vu

Why: In what is no doubt my favorite girl group debut ever "Deja Vu" should have immediaty positioned Sonamoo as the next big thing in kpop. But for whatever reason TS Entertainment decided to go a different route with the group's next comeback and for pretty much the rest of their career by switching to a more cutesy/girly concept. Not usually my thing. But in my opinion the two best female rappers i've ever heard in D.ana and Newsun brought just enough sass and bad assness to keep this group interesting.
"Friday Night" and "I (knew it)" were amazing songs that put Sonamoo back on track but unfortunatly they are under TS Entertainment. With the departure of Sumin and Nahyun and the dozens of scandals from TS this group is done. Might just be my pick (along with Pristin) for most wasted oppurtunity for a girl group.

6. Wonder Girls.
Debut: 2007
Bias: Sohee
Favorite Song: Tell Me

Why: Do I really have to answer this lol. Very few groups are as legendary as The Wonder Girls. The quintessential JYP girl group and one of three girl groups who debuted in 2007 and announced to the world the boys better watch out cause the girls are here to steal your thunder and carve a path of their own. "Irony", "Tell Me" and "Nobody" are three of my favorite songs not just of kpop but of any music genre ever. Even though i didn't discover kpop until 2015 there is still something so nostalgic and timeless about The Wonder Girls. Music is obviously subjective but if this group isn't in everyone top ten then i don't know what the hell you've been listening to.

5. AOA.
Debut: 2012
Bias: Seolhyun
Favorite Song: Heart Attack

Why: I've said it before and I'll say it again. "Heart Attack" is THE BEST GIRL GROUP COME BACK EVER. If I was going to introduce a complete stranger and newbie to kpop girl groups then AOA is the group I would show them. If i was going to rate every group on this list singles out of ten then AOA would win. They would have the most 9s and 10s outof 10. They are just perfect in every way imaginable. And oh yeah! They have a girl named Seolhyun on their roster. The one my boy @emanresu proudly proclaimed "the
worlds perfect woman". That word keeps coming a lot with this group it seems. But it's not an exaggeration. AOA is the perfect kpop girl group.

4. T-ara.
Debut: 2009
Bias: Jiyeon
Favorite Song: Roly Poly

Why: With hands down the best music videos, the best stage presence, the smoothest swag, the most iconic song of the decade, and a catalog of countless second gen classics. T-ara was a MONSTER girl group during their time in kpop who even wielded the potential to dethrone the almighty Girls Generation. No need to get into what happened cause it's been discussed a million times but it's safe to say T-ara is not just the Queens of Non Big 3 girl groups but was well on their way to becoming THE Queens of ALL girl groups. Fun fact: T-ara was the inspiration for #2 on this list. The man who created that group said he watched "Roly Poly" and instantly wanted to make his own girl group based on T-ara's funky concept.

3. Kara.
Debut: 2007
Bias: Seungyeon
Favorite Song: Mister

Why: No other group on this list has the "It factor" that Kara has. No other group on this list performs with the confidense that Kara has. No other group on this list is as iconic as Kara is. To be perfectly honest Kara is my pick for the greatest kpop girl group of all time. So why do I have them sitting at number 3 on my list? Because I'm one of the few kpop fans who can differieate favorite from best. I recognize Kara as the quientesstial girl group but there are two other girl groups who I enjoy more. But I will stand by my claim till my dying day that they are the best of the best. TLC, Spice Girls, Destiny's Child, and Girls Generation all combined into one super group. Even if "Mister" was the only song they ever released that would still be enough to get them in my top ten. I don't care who your faves are or how many albums they've sold. Put them on the same stage as Kara in their prime and they will get run off the stage faster than Donald Trump at a Black Panther Party rally. (mortal kombat voice) "KARA WINS"...."FATALITY".

2. Crayon Pop.
Debut: 2012
Bias: Ellin
Favorite Song: Bing Bing

Why: If number one on this list is my Bruce Lee of kpop then Crayon Pop is my Jackie Chan. Arguably the most original group kpop has ever seen there hasn't been a group like Crayon Pop before or since. With "Bar Bar Bar" becoming one of the most viral songs in Korean history Crayon Pop cemented themselves as the Queens of Quirky and even later as the original Momoland. Although still referred to as a one hit wonder no other group I can think of is as charming, chaotic, other worldly, and in your face then these five girls and the dozen of catchy masterpiece pop anthems they dropped on the world like a ten ton atom bomb. No one compares. The closest equivalent I've found today is SD Entertainment's girl group Saturday. Very underrated group but still no where near the legend that is "POP POP KYE RAYE YONG POP"!

1. f(x).
Debut: 2009
Bias: Sulli
Favorite Song: Rum Pum Pum Pum

Why: If you combined the other nine groups on this list and made one super group it still wouldn't come close to being enough to dethrone f(x) as my favorite kpop group of all time. f(x) is.... I honestly cant even put into words how much I love this group. I'll never forget the day I stumbled across "RPPP". Changed my life forever. I cant pinpoint what it was exactly but something just clicked that day. I fell down the rabbit whole of f(x) and then later all of kpop and have never been able to climb out since. I honestly believe if the first kpop group I ever watched was anyone besides f(x) it wouldn't have stuck. I would have been one and done. It was truly destiny that f(x) came into my life. I could go on and on and more in depth on my history with this group but I'll stop here before I start rambling. I'll just end it with this. f(x) = life <3.

 

[Darkseid]

Excellent list honestly. KARA is definitely my favorite group from your list and I agree- they're the best. Whenever they perform on stage, they ooze so much charisma and star power, I honestly don't know if anyone else could even match them in their prime. My bias was Nicole, she was one of the first and best true all rounders who could sing, rap, dance and do all three excellently.

Agreed on Sonamoo too, D.ana is one of the biggest missed potentials in Kpop, the girl is good enough to hang amongst the best idols in Kpop and should've been an it girl. Funny thing is even after switching from their badass Deja Vu concept, she still finds ways to stand out with her rap in songs like Cushion. Her swag is something else.

Wonder Girls wouldn't be on my personal top 10 but objectively it's hard to deny their greatness. Tell Me is still a banger, has stood the test of time like very few songs do, and WG is the group with arguably the most number of successful alumni, including Hyuna too.

 

[Drew_B]

Excellent list honestly. KARA is definitely my favorite group from your list and I agree- they're the best. Whenever they perform on stage, they ooze so much charisma and star power, I honestly don't know if anyone else could even match them in their prime. My bias was Nicole, she was one of the first and best true all rounders who could sing, rap, dance and do all three excellently.

Agreed on Sonamoo too, D.ana is one of the biggest missed potentials in Kpop, the girl is good enough to hang amongst the best idols in Kpop and should've been an it girl. Funny thing is even after switching from their badass Deja Vu concept, she still finds ways to stand out with her rap in songs like Cushion. Her swag is something else.

Wonder Girls wouldn't be on my personal top 10 but objectively it's hard to deny their greatness. Tell Me is still a banger, has stood the test of time like very few songs do, and WG is the group with arguably the most number of successful alumni, including Hyuna too.

Thanks for the reply.

Sonamoo was loaded with everything a girl group needs to dominate. It just didn't come together because of TS.

And I hope I dont get beat up for not including SNSD and Twice lol. They both have some great songs but I just never clicked with either group.

@RandAlThor here's a tag for another huge girl group stan.

 

[RandAlThor]

using this criteria.
I have chosen these ten groups based on 3 categories. How much I like their music, my connection to the members, and how often I watch any and all of their content on youtube.
i would add how much of the content i have downloaded and watch off line
The down side to these is that some newer group just have crazy levels of content.
its pretty much my sig list except bol 4 just can not hang in the content area they are mostly music only.

1. ) SNSD content gods from way back.
2. ) RV
3.) IZ*ONE 1 year and they have skyrocketed up my usually static bias list.
4.) Apink
5.) Gfriend
6. ) Fx - iy 1 and wgm
7.) Lovelyz they really do have a bunch of stuff out there that is subbed unlike say OMG even better than tara and Kara who were always a monster pain to find stuff for.
8.) Gugudan we will put bol 4 here.
9.) We Me, fromis 9
10.) kara , tara, secret

 

[Drew_B]

using this criteria.
I have chosen these ten groups based on 3 categories. How much I like their music, my connection to the members, and how often I watch any and all of their content on youtube.
i would add how much of the content i have downloaded and watch off line
The down side to these is that some newer group just have crazy levels of content.
its pretty much my sig list except bol 4 just can not hang in the content area they are mostly music only.

1. ) SNSD content gods from way back.
2. ) RV
3.) IZ*ONE 1 year and they have skyrocketed up my usually static bias list.
4.) Apink
5.) Gfriend
6. ) Fx - iy 1 and wgm
7.) Lovelyz they really do have a bunch of stuff out there that is subbed unlike say OMG even better than tara and Kara who were always a monster pain to find stuff for.
8.) Gugudan we will put bol 4 here.
9.) We Me, fromis 9
10.) kara , tara, secret

Wow Iz*One all the way to number 3? Will they drop down when they disband soon?

Also dont know why but I'm kind of surprised Kara isnt higher on your list.

I also want to mention I vibe better with groups who have stability. Groups like After School and Nine Muses have some great music but the constant revolving door of members coming and going really throws me off.

 

[RandAlThor]

Wow Iz*One all the way to number 3? Will they drop down when they disband soon?

Also dont know why but I'm kind of surprised Kara isnt higher on your list.

I also want to mention I vibe better with groups who have stability. Groups like After School and Nine Muses have some great music but the constant revolving door of members coming and going really throws me off.

I loved the members but , Kara was Hard to find subs for at the end of the day availability of subbed content is a big deal for me. I never really bought albums of theirs every one in row 9 i have at least 2 albums of.
I have watched a ton of stuff with Kara members its the Kara solo stuff that is not normally subbed.
Loved Hara, Nicole, Seungyeon, and later Youngji. Also what hurt kara and tara is there were at least 1 or 2 members i just could not connect with.
Oddly the youngest as normally i really defend the younger kids.

Izone surprised the heck out of me.
I was against the show when it was announced and thought it gave just an unfair advantage to the J trainees. (which may have actually been true thus the crazy rigging as it looks like he did not want a group that Japanese.)
But those kids are in my heart as solid as SNSD and RV its crazy.
I really really hope they do not disband but i find it hard to see them dropping far.
I flew to Korea mostly just to see the eyes on me tour.

 

[yeji]

thanks for having f(x) on no1

 

[eclipsoul]

amazing list! it's nice to see berry good and rainbow on here, both are extremely underrated despite releasing great songs. "don't believe", "a" and "sweet dream" are among my favourite girl group songs of all time.

 

[Drew_B]

amazing list! it's nice to see berry good and rainbow on here, both are extremely underrated despite releasing great songs. "don't believe", "a" and "sweet dream" are among my favourite girl group songs of all time.

What would your top 10 look like?

 

[Drew_B]

Did you read this @emanresu ?

I'm pretty proud of it.

 

[Emanresu]

Awesome thread. A great read! Really enjoyed your rundowns on each group.

Didn't realize you were that into GUGUDAN. I knew you had a period you were into them but I didn't think they'd make a list like this for you. Favorite song?

I'll have to check out RAINBOW. They're one of those I've always heard about but never actually checked out. With your recommendation I may have to.

And WONDER GIRLS was one of the first groups I knew of in kpop other than SNSD. As you know I was into SNSD pretty much exclusively for a long time. But my girlfriend at the time kept playing a song that I kept begging her to play again, over and over. Turns out it was So Hot lol.

And yes, AOA the Great. Despite being hella successful. They simply deserve even more. They truly are a perfect group. They just have it. And no one can argue. Seolhyun is the world's Perfect Woman. I won't hear any argument.


Awesome to see KARA here. I still need to continue my KARA journey after being absolutely astounded by their first album.

And YESSSSSSSS……. CRAYON POP! THE SINGLE MOST UNDERRATED GROUP IN KPOP HISTORY. Forever waved away as a one hit wonder……. Jesus it pisses me off. They are so fucking good. Funny story but when Ripia introduced me to them I think he showed me their Dancing Queen music video and there they all are dancing goofily in Orange pants and shit…. And I was like…….. what the fuck is this…… I just wasn't ready for the greatness. Fast forward a year or two and I regularly proclaim them one of the single greatest groups in kpop history. Once the quirky magic hits you….. you never escape. I see them as the hidden gem of kpop.


And of course….. FX! Such a great group that admittedly I took me a while to come around tom. Many of their songs are now in my favorites in kpop. I should ask you! What's your single favorite song by them?

 

[Emanresu]

By the way you still have Ellin cancelled or have you forgiven her?

 

[Drew_B]

Awesome thread. A great read! Really enjoyed your rundowns on each group.

Didn't realize you were that into GUGUDAN. I knew you had a period you were into them but I didn't think they'd make a list like this for you. Favorite song?

I'll have to check out RAINBOW. They're one of those I've always heard about but never actually checked out. With your recommendation I may have to.

And WONDER GIRLS was one of the first groups I knew of in kpop other than SNSD. As you know I was into SNSD pretty much exclusively for a long time. But my girlfriend at the time kept playing a song that I kept begging her to play again, over and over. Turns out it was So Hot lol.

And yes, AOA the Great. Despite being hella successful. They simply deserve even more. They truly are a perfect group. They just have it. And no one can argue. Seolhyun is the world's Perfect Woman. I won't hear any argument.


Awesome to see KARA here. I still need to continue my KARA journey after being absolutely astounded by their first album.

And YESSSSSSSS……. CRAYON POP! THE SINGLE MOST UNDERRATED GROUP IN KPOP HISTORY. Forever waved away as a one hit wonder……. Jesus it pisses me off. They are so fucking good. Funny story but when Ripia introduced me to them I think he showed me their Dancing Queen music video and there they all are dancing goofily in Orange pants and shit…. And I was like…….. what the fuck is this…… I just wasn't ready for the greatness. Fast forward a year or two and I regularly proclaim them one of the single greatest groups in kpop history. Once the quirky magic hits you….. you never escape. I see them as the hidden gem of kpop.


And of course….. FX! Such a great group that admittedly I took me a while to come around tom. Many of their songs are now in my favorites in kpop. I should ask you! What's your single favorite song by them?

Well I have loved every single Gugudan has released. I actually almost put SNSD at #10 instead just because they have so many legendary songs. But the main reason Gugudan slid ahead was because of Mina. I love me some early Tiffany and Yuri but Mina has just been doing it for me the last few years.

I dont think my top 3 will ever change. They are set for life. Everyone else places could change. Like I mentioned I'm pretty sure Itzy will knock Gugudan out of top 10 soon just because Gugudan is pretty much done and Itzy will have a longevity and of course Itzy has Ryujin aka my new gen Queen.

f(x) though. Asking me to pick my favorite song is torcher. Honestly I always go back and forth between RPPP and Step.

But if forced to choose I would go with Step as my favorite f(x) song of all time.



This song is crack to me. I get so high off of this that I feel myself leaving my body and traveling through space at the speed of light.

Even the instrumental dies things to me I cant explain.

 

[Drew_B]

By the way you still have Ellin cancelled or have you forgiven her?

I've forgiven her.

Shes still my girl.