Green Day has had two big “peak” popularity eras: first in the mid‑1990s around the album Dookie (1994), and then a massive resurgence in the mid‑2000s with American Idiot (2004).

Main eras of popularity

  • Breakthrough era – mid‑1990s:
    • Their major‑label debut Dookie came out in 1994 and exploded in the mainstream.
* It sold tens of millions of copies worldwide and is often cited as one of the best‑selling punk rock albums ever, helping revive mainstream interest in punk.

* During 1994–1995 they were “everywhere” on TV, radio, and magazines, especially among teens.
  • Dip and steady years – late 1990s to early 2000s:
    • Later albums like Warning (2000) were less commercially dominant, and fans often describe this as a relative lull in mainstream attention, though the band still had a solid base.
  • Comeback / second peak – mid‑2000s:
    • American Idiot (2004) is widely seen as their big comeback, bringing them a new generation of fans and huge chart success between roughly 2004–2006.
* The album became a cultural moment, spawning multiple hit singles, heavy MTV/VH1 rotation, and later even a stage musical.

Simple way to remember it

  • First big wave of popularity: around 1994–1995 with Dookie.
  • Second big wave of popularity: around 2004–2006 with American Idiot.

So if you’re asking “when was Green Day popular?” most fans and sources would point to those two eras as their biggest mainstream peaks.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.