Third Eye Blind recorded their first demo in 1993. In 1996, the band landed an opening gig for Oasis. They were invited out for an encore, even after Oasis had already played. Third Eye Blind's first album, Third Eye Blind, became an immediate success after its release in 1997. The album had 5 singles, "Semi-Charmed Life", "Graduate", "Losing a Whole Year", "Jumper", and "How's It Going to Be". "Semi-Charmed Life" hit as high as #4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Modern Rock Tracks for 8 weeks. The band also played "How's it Going to Be" on Saturday Night Live. To date it has been the most successful Third Eye Blind CD, selling 6 million units worldwide. Smash Mouth drummer Michael Urbano also appeared on the album, playing drums on 4 songs.

During this period they also opened a number of shows on U2's Popmart tour. Additionally, this album includes the track "Motorcycle Drive By" which despite receiving only limited radio play, has gained significant popularity especially amongst the band's close followers.
In 1999 the band released Blue. Although not received as well as Third Eye Blind, the album sold 150,000 copies the first month of release and 2 million total sales. 4 singles were released from the album, "Anything", "Never Let You Go", "Deep Inside of You", and "10 Days Late". In early 2000, shortly after the release of the album, Kevin Cadogan was released from the band.

In 2003 the band released Out of the Vein. Two singles were released from the album; "Blinded", and "Crystal Baller". In April, 2003, the band embarked on the "Within Arms Reach" tour, targeting clubs and other smaller venues to promote their third album in a more intimate setting than in recent years. "The 'Within Arm's Reach Tour' means the audience and the band literally get within arm's reach of each other," Jenkins said.

Third Eye Blind has announced a fourth studio album titled The Hideous Strength, which is claimed to be released in 2008. Recent live performances have revealed a majority of the new tracks being worked on. Jenkins has revealed that this album will be "more political" than others they have done. Jenkins said the fourth album has taken so long to complete because he is having trouble finishing the lyrics. The album is named after a 1945 novel by author C. S. Lewis.

Third Eye Blind formed in the early 1990s in San Francisco.  After the massive success of their self-titled debut album in 1997, the band released one more album, 1999's Blue.  A common misconception is that the name of the band is a euphemism for the penis. However, Stephan Jenkins indicated during a radio interview that the band's name came from the metaphysical idea of a mind's eye. In Finnish, "third eye" means "asshole".  In some Finnish jokes, it is considered "the blind eye".