Staind were first formed in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1995 and their line-up remained intact 16 years later. Vocalist Aaron Lewis and guitarist Mike Mushok met at a Christmas party in 1993. Mushok introduced Lewis to Jon Wysocki who would later become their drummer. Lewis in return made a connection to bass player Johnny April. As a young band, they covered songs by Korn, Rage Against the Machine and others, performing them in small clubs.

Staind released their first album called "Tormented" in November 1996 and the effort delivered them a name in the industry. The big break came when they were set to open for Limp Bizkit's concert. Bizkit's frontman Fred Durst was first appalled by the band's album cover art, which indicated that they were Satan worshipers, and asked them to be removed from the bill, but he was softened up as soon as hearing their performance. Durst even convinced them to travel to Jacksonville, Florida, to work on new songs.

Lewis and his bandmates then started working on their second album which was released majorly by Flip Records. "Dysfunction" was co-produced by Durst and Terry Date, and was released in April 1993. Staind followed it up with a tour with Kid Rock that spring and later re-teamed with Bizkit for a summer tour. Although slow, the success of "Dysfunction" was an achievement for the band. It reached number one on Billboard's Heatseeker and number 74 on Hot 200.

Staind were frequently associated with Bizkit since then. The two bands hit the road together in Family Values Tour in 1999. Two years later, Staind were ready to drop their third album, which was titled "Break the Cycle". Hits like "It's Been a While," "Fade," "For You," and "Epiphany" sent the album to number one on Hot 200 chart. Selling 716,000 copies in the first week, "Break the Cycle" became the second highest-selling album in 2001.

Thanks to their popularity, their next album "14 Shades of Grey" experienced the same success on Hot 200 although it was rather mainstream. Two of its hits spent weeks on top of rock chart while some others failed to crack the Hot 100. The band joined various festivals and continued promotions until mid 2005 when they released "Chapter V". The album became their third consecutive number one with the opening sales of 185,000 copies.

Staind spent the rest of the year touring with P.O.D., Taproot and Flyleaf in Fall Brawl and also touring solo. To treat their fans, the band spawned a 2-CD/DVD set of "Chapter V" which includes several rarities and fan favorites. Due to the numerous amount of hits, Staind prepared their first "Greatest Hits" compilation which was then released as "The Singles: 1996-2006". The album is mostly populated by Staind's singles but it included also three covers performed at a New York show and a remastered version of "Come Again", from Staind's first independent release "Tormented".

Come August 2008, Staind unleashed a new album, their sixth, which they named "The Illusion of Progress". There was a limited edition sold to fans, featuring 3 bonus tracks and membership in Staind Fan Club. Unlike its predecessors, this latest one only managed to land at number 3 on Hot 200 although it was backed up by hits like "Believe" and "All I Want". One of the tracks, called "This Is It" also became the soundtrack of "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen".

In late 2009, Lewis announced that he was coming up with a solo album but they remained a band for the seventh album. By April 2011, the band had completed the studio work. However, a shocking announcement was made a month later that long-time drummer Wysocki decided to leave. He was temporary replaced by Will Hunt and later Sal Giancarelli.

The new album still became the band's focus though. Self-titled, it was released in September 2011 with "Not Again" as first single.