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Hoobastank formed in the Los Angeles County suburb Agoura Hills in 1994. According to drummer Chris Hesse, vocalist Doug Robb had known guitarist Dan Estrin for some time before competing against him in a high school battle of the bands competition and subsequently, they decided to form a band. They then recruited Markku Lappalainen and Hesse to form Hoobastank, which at the time was spelled Hoobustank (pronounced the same way as "Hoobastank").

Hoobastank started out in Cobalt Cafe along with Linkin Park, Incubus Avenged Sevenfold and others. They recorded their first full-length self-released album in 1998 called They Sure Don't Make Basketball Shorts Like They Used To. It featured a unique saxophone section headed by Jeremy Wasser. By this stage, Hoobastank had developed a strong reputation in Southern California. This attracted interest from Island Records, who subsequently signed the band in 2000. At the time of signing, the band had completed a second full length album, titled "Forward", also featuring Jeremy Wasser, however Island executives felt that the direction they were heading in would work best without a sax, so Jeremy departed the band and the album was shelved.

Hoobastank released their self-titled debut album in November 2001. The first single was "Crawling in the Dark" which was a breakthrough hit reaching #68 on the Billboard Hot 100, #3 on the Modern Rock chart, and #7 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The second single "Running Away" was even more successful reaching #44 on the Billboard Hot 100, #2 on the Modern Rock chart, and #9 on the Mainstream Rock chart. The Hoobastank album went Platinum thanks to these hit singles and reached #25 on the Billboard 200 album charts and #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart.

Their second album The Reason was released in December 2003.It showcased a harder-edged vocal performance from Robb. The single "Same Direction" would reach #9 on the US Modern Rock chart, #16 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #16 on a composite World Modern Rock chart (based on the US, Germany, Sweden, Finland, Canada and Australia). The title track was released as a single in the first half of 2004. It became a massive hit reaching #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, #1 on the US and World Modern Rock charts, #1 on a World Airplay chart in May 2004, #10 in Australia and #15 in Germany. The song was also played during the final episode of Friends. In Canada, it spent 21 weeks at the top, setting a new record for most weeks at No. 1. Meanwhile in the United States, the album reached #3 on the Billboard 200 album chart.

Their third album Every Man for Himself was released in May 2006 and debuted at #12 on the Billboard chart. Three singles, "If I Were You", "Inside of You" and "Born to Lead" have been released so far, all of which have fared poorly on the rock charts. Despite this, the album has been certified Gold in the United States.