To be fair to Big L, he never got to fulfil his potential, which was not inconsiderable. A lot of charisma, witty, profane punchlines, great storyteller ('Casualties of a Dice Game'), and could do substantive stuff too ('Fed Up With The Bullshit' e.g.). Reckon he'd have been a good fit for Rocafella, alongside Cam and Jay.
I've never really listened to much OC beyond 'Times Up'. Should rectify that really. I'm feeling like getting back into 90s rap after a prolonged period of being tired of it.
Re: Big Pun, he belongs to that 1997-99 era that I will always think of as a sort of golden age, because that's when I got into rap. Him, Canibus, DMX, Noreaga, No Limit, Bad Boy... Every era is a golden era somewhere, though.