[7] The band has sold over four million records worldwide,[8] making it one of the most successful punk rock groups of all time.

In the following year, Rancid released its highly successful album ...And Out Come the Wolves, which produced its best-known songs "Roots Radicals", "Ruby Soho", and "Time Bomb", and was certified gold and platinum by the RIAA,[9] selling over one million copies in the United States alone.

Its next six albums – Life Won't Wait (1998), Rancid (2000), Indestructible (2003), Let the Dominoes Fall (2009), ...Honor Is All We Know (2014) and Trouble Maker (2017) – were also critically acclaimed, though not as commercially successful as ...And Out Come the Wolves.

Childhood friends Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman grew up together in Albany, California, a small, then–working-class community near Berkeley.

A few months after the band's inception, Rancid began performing around the Berkeley area, and quickly developed a fan following.

Tim had previously asked Lars Frederiksen to be Rancid's second guitarist, but he turned down the request initially as he was playing with the UK Subs at the time.

Some of the rumors were Epitaph employees were not allowed to discuss matters with the press, Rancid convinced an A&R man from Epic to shave a blue mohawk, and Madonna sent the band nude pictures of herself.

Erlewine praised the music and claims the album "doesn't mark an isolationist retreat into didactic, defiantly underground punk rock".

Three of the album's singles, "Roots Radicals", "Time Bomb", and "Ruby Soho" all charted on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks, and earned Rancid its heaviest airplay on MTV and radio stations to date.

The album branched out from Rancid's previous musical styles, and combined punk rock with elements of roots reggae, rockabilly, dub, hip-hop, and funk, drawing comparisons to the Clash's Sandinista!.

[23] The three original members of Rancid released three songs under the name Devil's Brigade in 2002, one on the Give 'Em the Boot III compilation album, and two on a 12-inch vinyl record.

The album's music video for the first single, "Fall Back Down" was also met with some criticism from fans due to members of Good Charlotte and Kelly Osbourne making appearances.

Freeman briefly toured with Social Distortion in 2004 as John Maurer's replacement until the band found its current bassist Brent Harding.

Rancid toured North America in the summer of 2009 in support of Let the Dominoes Fall, with Rise Against, Riverboat Gamblers, and Billy Talent as its opening bands.

[33] On June 10, 2009, the band appeared as the musical guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien playing "Last One to Die" from Let the Dominoes Fall.

To accompany the shows, Pirates Press Records released a split 7-inch between the bands which featured "East Bay Night" from Rancid.

In December 2012, Rancid released their first new studio song in three years, titled "Fuck You", which they made available for free download on their website.

The box set features all of Rancid's officially released albums and compilations including their debut self-titled EP from 1992 through 2009.

"[40] In a December 2013 interview on Reddit, Rancid drummer Branden Steineckert revealed that the new album was called ...Honor Is All We Know and it would be released in 2014.

[43] In March 2016, the band played on their first cruise ship, along with Flogging Molly, Fishbone, The Street Dogs, Frank Turner and others.

On March 25, 2017, Rancid played for the first time in Brazil at the Lollapalooza São Paulo in front of an audience estimated in 100,000 people[44] who attended that first of 2 days festival.

On the occasion, Lars Frederiksen dedicated the last song of the gig, Ruby Soho for "Lemmy from Motörhead, the world is a much more fucked up place without you".

Also in 2019, they headlined the traveling craft and beer festival The Bash,[51] and toured North America in September, with support provided by Pennywise, Suicidal Tendencies, the English Beat, the Aquabats, Turnstile, Iron Reagan and Angel Du$t.

[52] Rancid announced in June 2021 that they would be co-headlining the Boston to Berkeley II North American tour with Dropkick Murphys from August to October 2021.

Steve Huey of AllMusic said Rancid "drew heavily on the political commentary and rock/reggae fusions of the Clash", and that their sound showed an apparent "fascination with ska while adding a bit of hardcore crunch".