Though their experimental endeavors received some press coverage, their real breakthrough came with the 1999 release, The Soft Bulletin.
Marrying more traditional catchy melodies with synthetic strings, hypnotic, carefully manipulated beats, booming cymbals and oddball but philosophical lyrics (sung much more strongly than on earlier releases), the album quickly became one of the underground hits of the year, even widely considered to be one of the best albums of the entire decade.

Compared by many music critics to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds because of its inclusion of harmonies and orchestrated sounds, The Soft Bulletin also featured greater use of synthesizers, drum machines, sound effects and more studio manipulation.
After this album was released, Coyne stated that, "if someone was to ask me what instrument do I play, I would say the recording studio."
As the band considered an attempt to recreate this complex album live solely with additional musicians to be complex and expensive, they decided to tour as a three-piece and make extensive use of pre-recorded music to fill out those parts that were not performed live by the members of the band.
This led to the decision to have the drummer Drozd play primarily keyboards and guitar live instead of the drums.
This, in turn, led to a decision to utilize video recordings and projections of Steven playing the drums for some of the band's older songs, so the band added Kliph Scurlock on drums and percussion, Drozd focused on guitars, keyboards, bass (when he plays bass, Ivins plays keyboards), drums and occasional vocals, when he sings, Coyne plays guitars, keyboards and theremin.

To enhance the live experience for their audience and to accurately reproduce the sound of The Soft Bulletin live, the Lips devised the concept of the "Headphone Concert".
A low-powered FM transmitter was set up at shows, and the concert was simultaneously broadcast to small Walkman-style receivers and headphones made available for free to audience members.
This would, in theory, allow the audiences greater sonic clarity while still feeling the power of a full live P.A.. This concept was debuted in Dallas, Texas, and at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, in March 1999, and was subsequently used on the International Music Against Brain Degeneration Revue tour.
This tour featured Japanese band Cornelius, Sebadoh, Robyn Hitchcock, Sonic Boom's E.A.R. and IQU.

Three years later, in the summer of 2002, the Flaming Lips joined bands Cake and Modest Mouse on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour.
They also released the full-length Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots to much critical acclaim.
Featuring guest musician Yoshimi P-We and demonstrating more use of electronic instruments and computer manipulation than The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi is widely considered to be the Flaming Lips' first critical and commercial success after nearly twenty years as a band.
The final track on the album, "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" earned a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and the album was certified gold on April 10, 2006.
In March 2007, the band revealed that they had recently teamed up with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to produce a Broadway musical based on the album.

In January 2012, Pitchfork TV released a forty-five-minute documentary on The Soft Bulletin.
The documentary featured several rare archival photos and videos along with interviews from the members, producer Dave Fridmann, and manager Scott Booker.
The same year, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was adapted into a musical after being in development for years after the album's release.

Both The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots have been released on DVD-Audio.

Following the success of "Yoshimi", Steven Drozd completed rehab for heroin addiction.
This decision was spurred by a physical altercation between Drozd and Wayne Coyne.
Though their experimental endeavors received some press coverage, their real breakthrough came with the 1999 release, The Soft Bulletin. Marrying more traditional catchy melodies with synthetic strings, hypnotic, carefully manipulated beats, booming cymbals and oddball but philosophical lyrics (sung much more strongly than on earlier releases), the album quickly became one of the underground hits of the year, even widely considered to be one of the best albums of the entire decade.
Compared by many music critics to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds because of its inclusion of harmonies and orchestrated sounds, The Soft Bulletin also featured greater use of synthesizers, drum machines, sound effects and more studio manipulation. After this album was released, Coyne stated that, "if someone was to ask me what instrument do I play, I would say the recording studio." As the band considered an attempt to recreate this complex album live solely with additional musicians to be complex and expensive, they decided to tour as a three-piece and make extensive use of pre-recorded music to fill out those parts that were not performed live by the members of the band. This led to the decision to have the drummer Drozd play primarily keyboards and guitar live instead of the drums. This, in turn, led to a decision to utilize video recordings and projections of Steven playing the drums for some of the band's older songs, so the band added Kliph Scurlock on drums and percussion, Drozd focused on guitars, keyboards, bass (when he plays bass, Ivins plays keyboards), drums and occasional vocals, when he sings, Coyne plays guitars, keyboards and theremin.
To enhance the live experience for their audience and to accurately reproduce the sound of The Soft Bulletin live, the Lips devised the concept of the "Headphone Concert". A low-powered FM transmitter was set up at shows, and the concert was simultaneously broadcast to small Walkman-style receivers and headphones made available for free to audience members. This would, in theory, allow the audiences greater sonic clarity while still feeling the power of a full live P.A.. This concept was debuted in Dallas, Texas, and at the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, in March 1999, and was subsequently used on the International Music Against Brain Degeneration Revue tour. This tour featured Japanese band Cornelius, Sebadoh, Robyn Hitchcock, Sonic Boom's E.A.R. and IQU.
Three years later, in the summer of 2002, the Flaming Lips joined bands Cake and Modest Mouse on the Unlimited Sunshine Tour. They also released the full-length Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots to much critical acclaim. Featuring guest musician Yoshimi P-We and demonstrating more use of electronic instruments and computer manipulation than The Soft Bulletin, Yoshimi is widely considered to be the Flaming Lips' first critical and commercial success after nearly twenty years as a band. The final track on the album, "Approaching Pavonis Mons by Balloon (Utopia Planitia)" earned a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, and the album was certified gold on April 10, 2006. In March 2007, the band revealed that they had recently teamed up with screenwriter Aaron Sorkin to produce a Broadway musical based on the album.
In January 2012, Pitchfork TV released a forty-five-minute documentary on The Soft Bulletin. The documentary featured several rare archival photos and videos along with interviews from the members, producer Dave Fridmann, and manager Scott Booker. The same year, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots was adapted into a musical after being in development for years after the album's release.
Both The Soft Bulletin and Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots have been released on DVD-Audio.
Following the success of "Yoshimi", Steven Drozd completed rehab for heroin addiction. This decision was spurred by a physical altercation between Drozd and Wayne Coyne.
The Flaming Lips