The band’s debut album, Lemonade and Brownies, was released in 1995 and though it failed to produce a major hit single it did earn them recognition in alternative circles.

After they gained fame with the 1997 album Floored in 1998, the single “Speed Home California” and “Mean Machine” from Lemonade and Brownies was featured in the PlayStation game Road Rash 3D, and its Nintendo 64 counterpart Road Rash 64, respectively.

Their 1999 album 14:59 was the band’s reply to suggestions that they were a one-hit wonder, with the title implying that their 15 minutes of fame were not quite up — their “fame clock” read 14:59. “Every Morning”, which was widely compared to “Fly”, had similar success during the spring of 1999, reaching number 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Their follow-up single “Someday” also enjoyed extensive airplay later that year and reached number 7 in the U.S. The next follow-up single “Falls Apart (Run Away)” reached number 29 in early 2000. 14:59 outsold its predecessor and was certified triple platinum. The band toured in support of the album, most notably performing at Woodstock 99. After 14:59 in 2000, Sugar Ray teamed up with The Alkaholiks to contribute the track “Make Room” on the Rap Rock collaboration album, Loud Rocks, with other artists with a similar style such as Crazy Town and Incubus. In 2000, Sugar Ray did a cover version of John Cale and Brian Eno’s song “Spinning Away” for the soundtrack to the film The Beach.

Their 2001 self-titled album Sugar Ray produced another hit with “When It’s Over”, which, although it failed to achieve the same level of success as their previous singles, still reached number 13 in the U.S. Other singles such as “Answer the Phone”, “Under the Sun” and “Words to Me” gained some popularity as well. Sugar Ray also made several movie appearances, including Scooby-Doo in 2002.

Sugar Ray’s 2003 effort In the Pursuit of Leisure, and the first single from the album, “Mr. Bartender (It’s So Easy)”, received a lukewarm reception. The album also contained the band’s cover of Joe Jackson’s famous “Is She Really Going Out With Him?”. ProHoeZak guested live with the band in 2003 having appeared on “Mr. Bartender (It’s So Easy)”. In 2005, Sugar Ray released a greatest hits album, with three new songs, “Shot of Laughter”, “Time After Time”, and “Psychedelic Bee”.

After releasing their greatest hits album – The Best of Sugar Ray, in 2005, the band went into a period of relative inactivity for a number of years, with Mark McGrath starting a new job as an anchor on the television show Extra. In January 2006, Sugar Ray was released from their recording contract with Atlantic Records. In mid-2007, their previously unreleased song “Into Yesterday” was used on the Surf’s Up movie soundtrack, and the band made brief tour in Asia in August 2007 where they headlined SingFest, Singapore’s first international music festival.

On May 19, 2008, the band announced they would be entering the studio to record their first album of new material since 2003. Jason Bernard, a friend of the band (who also happened to be a music producer) brought them a deal to sign with his label. It was announced that the band signed Pulse Recordings and that the new album should be released in the summer of 2009. On March 6, 2009, Mark McGrath announced that the new album would be titled Music for Cougars. It was released on July 21, 2009. The first single was “Boardwalk”.

On August 22, 2010, Sugar Ray’s Twitter page announced that Craig “DJ Homicide” Bullock had left the band. In 2011, the band had what McGrath described as not “the highest-grossing year for Sugar Ray”. Murphy Karges and Stan Frazier also left, one not wanting to tour anymore, and the other taking a job with Aaron Rodgers. This left Rodney Sheppard and McGrath as the remaining original members. The band recruited replacements in percussionist Al Keith, bassist Justin Bivona and drummer Jesse Bivona, the latter two being touring support members in the past.

In 2012, McGrath worked with Art Alexakis, frontman and vocalist of the band Everclear, on starting up a 1990s nostalgia tour, something they had discussed in the past but had always felt was too soon to be successful. The result was the “Summerland” tour, featuring a line-up of alternative rock bands that “at least had a big hit or two” in the 1990s, containing McGrath and Alexakis’s own bands along with Marcy Playground, Gin Blossoms, and Lit. Percussionist Al Keith (Khalil Al-Rashad) injured his foot on July 2, 2012 at Del Mar Fairgrounds in Del Mar, California, during the song “Fly.” He was absent from shows until August 2012. The tour was deemed a success, and McGrath initially spoke of the possibility of it becoming a yearly event. Initial plans to expand the nostalgia touring into 2013 faced issues. McGrath announced a “Mark McGrath & Friends” tour, in which the band would perform alongside other 1990s alternative rock bands Smash Mouth, Spin Doctors, and Vertical Horizon, on a cruise ship. though the plans were cancelled, with the idea losing support after the Carnival Triumph cruise ship disaster. Additionally, McGrath and Alexakis did not see eye to eye on the future direction for the “Summerland” tour, leading to Sugar Ray leaving its 2013 incarnation in favor of starting their own rival nostalgia tour called “Under the Sun” instead. The tour ran three separate years – 2013, 2014, and 2015.

As early as 2013, McGrath spoke of recording and releasing an EP, though at the time, he was unsure if it would be released as a band release or a solo release. On April 9, 2013, Mark McGrath announced via Twitter that he would be “heading to Pulse Recording Studios” to record the new material, he stated July to be a hopeful release date. For the tour, and drummer Jesse Bivona and bassist Justin Bivona were temporarily replaced by drummer Dean Butterworth and bassist Serg Dimitrijevic, as the Bivona brothers’ band The Interrupters are opening for Rancid. On September 9, 2013, former members Stan Frazier (drums, percussion, programming, backing vocals) and Murphy Karges (bass guitar, backing vocals) performed with Scott Foster (lead vocals, guitar), Lewis Richards (guitar, backing vocals), and Damon Tucker (guitar, backing vocals) during Keep Calm and Beat H.E.A.T. Rocking & Rally. They performed some of Foster’s solo material, and some Sugar Ray classics. They performed from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Twila Reid Park, 3100 West Orange Avenue, Anaheim. On November 9, 2013, Sugar Ray was to play a benefit for the Greater Los Angeles Fisher House at West LA’s Wadsworth Theater.

The band continued its “Under the Sun” tour through 2014. However, in June 2014, McGrath revealed that the band had been struggling with legal wranglings with Karges and Frazier since their departure in 2012, and that because of it, he felt there would never be another Sugar Ray album. McGrath would later release the EP as a solo EP entitled Summertime’s Coming in 2015. As of the fall of 2014, drummer Jesse Bivona and bassist Justin Bivona are no longer in Sugar Ray (leaving officially in 2016); drummer Dean Butterworth became a full member in fall 2014, while bassist Kristian Attard became a full member in 2016.

In August 2017, McGrath spoke of writing and recording another album, of which he hoped he would be able to release within the next year.

In June 2019, ten years after the band last released music, Sugar Ray signed with BMG Rights Management and announced a new album, Little Yachty; with the lead single “Make it Easy” debuting on June 7, 2019. The album title is a reference to both the rapper Lil Yachty and the fact that McGrath views Sugar Ray as a “yacht rock” band. The album was released on July 26, 2019.