The group achieved commercial success following the release of their debut album Ooooooohhh... On the TLC Tip, which was certified quadruple-platinum by the RIAA and spawned the top-ten hits "Ain't 2 Proud 2 Beg", "Baby-Baby-Baby", and "What About Your Friends?". Their second album, CrazySexyCool (1994), is the only album by a female group to be awarded diamond certification by the RIAA, for selling over 11 million copies in the United States alone. Two of the album's singles, "Creep" and "Waterfalls", topped the Billboard Hot 100. Their third studio album, FanMail reached #1 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100, "No Scrubs" and "Unpretty". Despite their success, the members of TLC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1995.
In early 2002, just before the release of TLC's fourth album, 3D, Lopes was killed in a car accident in Honduras. Watkins and Thomas promoted 3D as a duo, and in 2005, hosted a reality television show, R U the Girl, with a grand prize of a chance to record a song and perform once in concert with the surviving group members, both of whom have released solo material and continued to collaborate occasionally. In October 2009, Thomas and Watkins announced plans to record new material to be released "sometime soon".
Billboard magazine ranked the group as one of the greatest musical trios of all time. They have had four #1 singles, including "Creep", "Waterfalls", "No Scrubs", and "Unpretty", and have won four Grammy Awards. The RIAA and Billboard cite that TLC has sold more than 60 million records world wide, making them one of the biggest selling R&B female group of all time. They are second only to The Supremes as far as pop female groups. In 2008, the group was inducted into the All Time Hot 100 Artist Hall of Fame by Billboard, at 56th place. They are listed on Top R&B/Hip Hop artist in the last 25 years at #25.