Best-Selling Female Bands of All Time

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To tell you the truth, I'd never heard of Patti Page until I did the research for this lens. However, after doing the research, I think she definitely deserves her #10 spot on my list of the top female bands of all time.

Patti Page was huge in the 1950's and 60's. She's managed to record more than 100 albums, 15 of them going gold. She's sold more than one hundred million records, and her career has spanned more than four decades. In fact, she still performs select concerts throughout the year.

Her most memorable and famous song, Tennessee Waltz, sold over twenty million copies. Tennessee Waltz was so popular that it is still one of two of Tennessee's state songs.

Patti Page was born November 8, 1927. She signed her first recording contract in 1947, and enjoyed a meteoric rise in popularity in just a few years. She was one of the pioneers of the pop genre and her songs have been sung by musical legends such as Elvis Presley and Patsy Cline.

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Olivia Newton John is best known for her awesome performance in the hit musical, Grease, which was the highest grossing movie musical ever produced. Before she starred in Grease, Olivia began her singing career at the young age of 14. She landed her first contract in 1966.

Since her humble beginnings, Olivia has won a Grammy Award, and has amassed several #1 singles and two hit albums that reached the top two hundred. She is also an active environmentalist and promotes breast cancer research.

Olivia Newton John was born in England, September 26, 1948 and has since made an indelible mark on the music industry. Besides Grease, she's also sold over one hundred million records, which makes her one of the best selling female artists of all time.

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Janet Jackson was born May 16, 1966. She began her career by performing on stage with the rest of her family, and didn't sign a recording contract until the tender age of sixteen. In some ways, Janet has grown into her own underneath the immense shadow that is her brother, Michael Jackson.

Janet Jackson has sold over one hundred million albums, placing her on this list of top ten best-selling female artists. Her distinct blend of pop and R&B has helped her carve out a niche, and her career has spanned decades. She's an actor and a musical artist, and many of her later videos explore her sexuality, which helped make her a sex icon in the United States.

Janet Jackson has been a major influence to upcoming female performers, such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. Her total record sales and impact on the music industry has been considerable, especially throughout the late eighties and early nineties.

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Dolly Parton was born January 19, 1946. As a child, Dolly Parton sang for local radio stations and television shows. At the age of thirteen, she was already putting together albums.

Dolly Parton has sold about the same amount of records in her lifetime as Janet Jackson. However, while they both have sold about one hundred million albums, I think Dolly has had a much bigger impact on the music industry as a whole.

Dolly has won seven Grammy Awards and been nominated 42 times for the same award. She has also been nominated for a Tony Award, Emmy Award and Academy Award. In the country music industry, there really isn't another female artist who has had the sort of impact that Dolly Parton has. She has twenty six number one singles and forty two top ten country albums, outshining most of the competition. She's appeared in numerous movies, written books and entertained the world for decades.

Dolly Parton's star can be seen on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, but her real legacy is her music. In my opinion, Dolly Parton is one of the most influential female musical artists of our time.

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Cher has sold over one hundred million records with a career that has spanned more than forty years. Not only has her career lasted more than forty years, but she has continued to pop out hit singles and hit records throughout that time. In fact, Cher is the only female solo artists to bag a top ten spot on the Hot 100 Billboard at least once every decade.

Cher also has a slew of awards, including an Academy Award, Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and even a People's Choice Award.

Cher is undeniably successful. What's even more impressive is that she managed to become a wildly successful singer and songwriter while battling dyslexia. On top of that, Cher was temporarily put into foster care when her mother ran into some financial troubles.

Cher has continued to reinvent herself throughout her forty year career. Many people counted her out, but with each new transformation, Cher has continued to achieve what other female performers can only dream about.

Her flashy way of dressing has helped set fashion trends, and her amazing singing voice and song writing talent has continued to draw new fans to her for over forty years. She's a musical legend and one of the most successful female solo artists of all time.

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Whitney Houston was born August 9, 1963. When I was putting together this list I quailed at the thought of putting Whitney ahead of notable performers like Dolly Parton and Cher, but her record sales speak for themselves. Whitney has sold more than 170 million albums, which is more than either Dolly or Cher. She's won album of the year, and the soundtrack to The Bodyguard, co-starring Kevin Costner, was the best selling soundtrack of all time.

Whitney Houston hasn't been around as long as some of the performers on this list. She put out her debut album in 1985. However, that album rose to be the best-selling debut album put out by a female artist.

Whitney continues to star in films, and she has a beautiful voice. She's been a musical influence to future R&B acts and female musicians. She's also managed to sell a whole lot of albums with just seven studio albums to date.

One of the biggest achievements of Whitney Houston, besides her unbelievable record sales, is that she helped bring down the color barrier. Michael Jackson helped do that as well, when MTV was just in its infancy. While Michael was hitting the airwaves, Whitney was receiving heavy coverage by MTV as well, which helped future black artists break into the industry and have their music heard on TV.

Whitney's strong voice can be attributed directly to her gospel singing days. Her voice has helped sell millions of albums, and its distinctive characteristics are just one of the many reasons why she made my top ten list of best-selling female artists of all time.

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Tina Turner was born on November 26, 1939. She has won numerous awards, been labelled as the Queen of Rock and Roll, and sold a whopping 180 million records. Her career has spanned more than five decades and she's appeared in Hollywood movies and some music aficionados think she is the most successful female rock act to ever grace a stage.

Tina Turner was honoured by Rolling Stones magazine as one of the Immortals -The Greatest Artists of all time. Turner has also been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame and has won 8 Grammy Awards.

Besides her musical success, Tina Turner is also known for her legs and the fact that she's played roles in nine movies. She's released fourteen studio albums and changed the face of the music industry for decades. She truly is one of the major artists of the 20th century, and one of the best female musicians to ever sing a note of music.

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Mariah Carey was born March 27, 1970 and has sold more than two hundred million albums worldwide. She began her music career in 1990 and amazingly, her first five singles hit the billboard top 100. She was the first recording artist to ever manage that feat.

In the 1990's, Mariah Carrey was the best selling female artist and, indeed, the most successful musical artist of that time period. Her shapely body, explosive singing voice and mix of R&B with traditional pop sounds helped her rise to prominence before her career went up in flames thanks to a mental and physical breakdown after her split with Mottola in 1997.

Mariah Carey has eighteen number one singles, which is second only to the Beatles. She has won five Grammy Awards, appeared in eight movies and released a total of twelve studio albums. She is one of the best-selling female artists of all time, and her music has helped shape the face of pop music.

Whether you love or hate this undeniable Diva, Mariah Carey's record sales are proof positive of her musical success.

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We now enter the area of the true sluggers of the female musical world. While the other female musicians mentioned on this lens are amazing in their own right, very few artists can stand up to the commercial success of my number two pick, Celine Dion.

Celine Dion is a Canadian and was born on March 30, 1969. She has sold over two hundred million records, which rivals that of my number one pick as the best female act of all time. Celine Dion began her music career in 1981. She has since put out ten English studio albums and thirteen French albums.

Despite critical reviews of several of her albums, Celine Dion continues to be successful. In fact, she may be the best-selling female artist of all time. Her vocal range is impressive and for those who missed it the first time around, The Titanic soundtrack definitely pointed that fact out to them.

Celine Dion has been commercially successful in both the French and the English speaking world, which definitely added to her total record sales. She has sold more albums than any other artist on this list, although in my personal opinion, my number one pick has had a bigger impact overall on the music industry.

Be that as it may, there's no denying the power and success of Celine Dion.

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You've made it!

My number one female musician of all time is a slugger if there ever was one. Madonna has put her mark on the eighties, as well as every decade afterward. She's a sex symbol, talented singer and song writer and has won numerous awards for her music and she's the reigning Queen of pop music. Besides Michael Jackson, no other artist has had the impact on pop that Madonna has, male or female.

Madonna was born on August 16, 1958. She put out her first album in 1983 and hasn't stopped since. Her lyrics and videos have continually pushed the boundaries of what is accepted and what is not. The eighties, with its spandex and leg warmers can be directly attributed to Madonna. Her mark on popular culture is unrivalled by any other female performer...ever.

In 2007, Guinness recognized Madonna as the biggest selling female artist of all time. She is also one of the most influential, starting trends whenever she puts out a new album. Her influence has helped shape future stars, and many of them have said that they wouldn't be where they are today if it hadn't have been for Madonna.

Besides record sales, Madonna has made more money than any other female performer. She's been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and she has more top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100. In fact, in 2008, Madonna managed to surpass Elvis Presley in that department, which is truly impressive.

Madonna continues to push the boundaries, using sex and music to stand the music industry on its collective head. No other female performer can stack up to the raw power that is Madonna in my opinion.