Dinosaur Jr.'s noise blasted out of the ‘90s, blending pop sensibilities with the snarl and energy of punk and hardcore. While their early tunes are especially noisy affairs—like crashy, freakout-filled “The Lung”—frontman J Mascis eventually steered his monolithic riffs in a more classic-rock direction, building sprawling, sinewy testaments to guitar power like “Start Choppin” or the Neil Young-indebted “Out There.” While Mascis' vocals tend to be laconic, a Dinosaur Jr. solo never loses its bite—just check the ballistic, lightning-in-a-bottle shredfest on reunion-era gem “Pieces.”