You'd think an instantly popular young band would fear a backlash when it came time to make its second album. Pearl Jam seemed to welcome one. With 1993's Vs., they pitted themselves against the grunge masses they helped create, crafting a dozen punked-out songs that left behind the Jumbotron ambition of their debut, Ten. Eddie Vedder, a dedicated surfer, jettisoned everything Zen in favor of a primal take on human disconnection. "Animal," "Blood" and "Leash" obliquely reference rape and drug addiction; "Rats" creams a surprisingly funky beat with pummeling guitar while comparing the title critters to people — favorably. On this newly remastered version (which tosses in three nonessential bonus tracks, including a sweet, stripped-down version of "Hold On"), the songs sound steelier than ever. But despite his rage, Vedder was also more willing than his peers to dip into folky beauty. Kurt Cobain never wrote a tune like the acoustic heartbreaker "Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town," which, for all its gloominess about life's long ebb, loyally marks an unforgettable moment in an anonymous existence.

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On 1994's Vitalogy (also remastered; both albums are available together in a deluxe package that adds in an especially muscular live show from '94), Vedder vented more frustrations — with fans, heroin's reach, even popular music itself. Look past the oddities — the wheezing-accordion weird-out "Bugs" - and the loathsome "Not for You," a fuck-you to album and ticket buyers, and you'll find classics like the frenzied adrenaline shot "Spin the Black Circle" and the effervescent ballad "Better Man." Vitalogy highlights a key element of Vedder's anger: It's always directed outward, not in. That can make him hard to love. But his anguish fueled an intensity Pearl Jam haven't matched since.

Vs. Reissue: Four-and-a-half Stars

Video: The Vs./Vitalogy Box Set Trailer

“Everyday People”

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.