* Glycoglycerolipids: a sub-group of glycolipids characterized by an acetylated or non-acetylated glycerol with at least one fatty acid as the lipid complex.  Glyceroglycolipids are often associated with photosynthetic membranes and their functions.  The subcategories of glyceroglycolipids depend on the carbohydrate attached.
** Galactolipids: defined by a galactose sugar attached to a glycerol lipid molecule.  They are found in chloroplast membranes and are associated with photosynthetic properties.
** Sulfolipids: have a sulfur-containing functional group in the sugar moiety attached to a lipid. An important group is the sulfoquinovosyl diacylglycerols which are associated with the sulfur cycle in plants.
* Glycosphingolipids: a sub-group of glycolipids based on sphingolipids. Glycosphingolipids are mostly located in nervous tissue and are responsible for cell signaling.
** Cerebrosides: a group glycosphingolipids involved in nerve cell membranes.
*** Galactocerebrosides: a type of cerebroseide with galactose as the saccharide moiety
*** Glucocerebrosides: a type of cerebroside with glucose as the saccharide moiety; often found in non-neural tissue.
*** Sulfatides: a class of glycolipids containing a sulfate group in the carbohydrate with a ceramide lipid backbone.  They are involved in numerous biological functions ranging from immune response to nervous system signaling. 
** Gangliosides: the most complex animal glycolipids. They contain negatively charged oligosacchrides with one or more sialic acid residues; more than 200 different gangliosides have been identified. They are most abundant in nerve cells.
** Globosides: glycosphingolipids with more than one sugar as part of the carbohydrate complex. They have a variety of functions; failure to degrade these molecules leads to Fabry disease.
** Glycophosphosphingolipids: complex glycophospholipids from fungi, yeasts, and plants, where they were originally called "phytoglycolipids". They may be as complicated a set of compounds as the negatively charged gangliosides in animals.
** Glycophosphatidylinositols:  a sub-group of glycolipids defined by a phosphatidylinositol lipid moiety bound to a carbohydrate complex.  They can be bound to the C-terminus of a protein and have various functions associated with the different proteins they can be bound to.
* Saccharolipids