The club began play in 1996 as one of Major League Soccer's 10 charter members. In the inaugural season, the Galaxy finished first in the Western Conference and contested the first MLS Cup final, finishing as runners-up to D.C. United.

Robin Fraser was the Los Angeles Galaxy's first selection (fourth overall) in the 1996 MLS Inaugural Player Draft, which preceded the 1996 MLS College Draft. Fraser played five seasons with Galaxy, and was named to the league's Best XI four times (1996, 1998, 1999, 2000), and was named MLS Defender of the Year in 1999.

The club reached the playoffs in its first 10 years of existence, but after winning a second MLS Cup in 2005, the Galaxy failed to make the postseason from 2006 through 2008.

In 2007, the club made international headlines with the signing of English player David Beckham from Real Madrid, the most high-profile transaction with Major League Soccer to that point. He made his debut at Home Depot Center before a record crowd of nearly 35,000, including many celebrities, during the World Series of Football tournament. The match brought unprecedented TV coverage from ESPN, who used 19 cameras to cover it, including one trained only on Beckham, even when he was on the bench.

In 2002, the Galaxy won their first MLS Cup in the club's fourth appearance by defeating the New England Revolution 1-0 in the second overtime on a sudden-death goal scored by Carlos Ruiz, who was named the MLS Cup most valuable player for his winning goal.

Under head coach Lothar Osiander, the Galaxy began their first MLS season with 12 straight victories. However, in 1997, the club began 3-9, and the team replaced Osiander with his former assistant, Octavio Zambrano.

It was a rematch of MLS Cup 2002 and ended in a repeat victory for Los Angeles, who once again defeated the New England Revolution 1-0, this time on a goal scored by Guillermo Ramírez in extra time.

Although many worldwide media outlets reported the deal to be worth $250 million, the astronomical figure was soon revealed to be something of a PR stunt engineered by Beckham's media handlers. In the press release, they decided to list the potential sum that Beckham could make over the five-year period from all revenue sources, which in addition to his Galaxy salary also included personal endorsements. Beckham's actual deal with the Galaxy was a five-year contract worth $32.5 million in total or $6.5 million per year.

Following the 2019 season, in which he scored 30 goals for the Galaxy, 38-year-old striker Zlatan Ibrahimović tweeted: "I came, I saw, I conquered. Thank you @lagalaxy for making me feel alive again. To the Galaxy fans -- you wanted Zlatan, I gave you Zlatan. You are welcome."

Cozmo wanted to try out for the team but due to unforeseen circumstances (he is not human) he was not allowed to play in MLS, but was offered a Millennium contract as mascot of the LA GALAXY. It seems that Cozmo had "The Right Stuff" because the Galaxy went on to win four MLS Cups after he landed in L.A.