Hank Williams, who was born in Mount Olive, Alabama, is widely considered the father of country music and the genre's foremost songwriter. Before the pioneering musician tragically died at 29 years old in 1953, he released a slew of singles that rocketed to the top of the country music charts, including "Kaw-Liga," "Honky Tonk Blues," and "Hey Good Lookin'."

Although his career was cut short, his impressive catalog of songs lives on in the contemporary musical landscape, thanks to covers by artists including James Brown, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Ray Charles.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Although she was born in Payson, Utah, Jewel Kilcher grew up near Homer, Alaska, and is by far the state's most successful musical export. The singer has earned four Grammy nominations and sold more than 30 million records. She's best known for hit songs including "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "You Were Meant for Me."

Jewel, 52, is also known for her yodeling, which she learned from her father, Atz Kilcher, a local musician and star of the reality show "Alaska: The Last Frontier."

Hailing from Tucson, Arizona, Linda Ronstadt, 80, is one of America's most successful and versatile singer-songwriters.

Since her Grammy Award-winning breakout album "Heart Like A Wheel" hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum, she hasn't looked back. Ronstadt has won 11 Grammys from 27 nominations, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2014, and released numerous hit singles spanning many genres beyond pop, including rock, folk, Latin, and country. 

There are few musicians in the history of music who are as accomplished and influential as Johnny Cash, who was born in Kingsland, Arkansas.

The Man in Black won 13 Grammys out of 35 nominations and received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992. Cash died just over a decade later in 2003 at 71.

He saw multiple albums reach the top of the Billboard 200 chart, including "At San Quentin" and "American V: A Hundred Highways," both of which hit No. 1. 

There never was and never will be another musician like Jerry Garcia. While he's best known for his role in the Grateful Dead, he also released dozens of live and studio solo albums.

His spirited guitar solos emitted an energy that could mesmerize entire stadiums of fans while his vocals could rock your socks off just as easily as they could soothe your biggest troubles. 

Garcia wasn't in it for the awards or recognition — he just loved to play. And that genuineness is what contributed to his legacy. He was a working-class kid from San Francisco who changed rock 'n' roll forever. 

In fact, he was so influential that he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as part of the Grateful Dead, in 1994. He died the next year, in 1995, at 53.

Thanks to iconic hits like "Rocky Mountain High" and "Take Me Home, Country Roads," John Denver, who died in 1997 at 53, cemented his place in the arena of folk-rock legends — and as the creator of some of the best campfire songs. Denver only won one Grammy from four nominations, but his legacy is unquestionably larger than his awards résumé suggests. 

The singer wasn't actually born in Colorado and spent much of his childhood moving around the US due to his father's job in the Air Force. But he settled in Aspen later in life and adopted his stage name after Denver, the capital of his favorite state, according to his website.

Since his debut album "Room For Squares" in 2001, John Mayer has evolved into one of the most talented singer-songwriters and guitarists in the game — so much so that surviving members of the Grateful Dead tapped him to play lead guitar in their touring spinoff, Dead & Company.

Born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, Mayer, 49, has won seven Grammys out of 19 nominations and continues to please listeners with his soulful solos and gentle croonings — including his most recent single, "Tom and Jerry."

With more than 15 million albums sold during a career just shy of five decades, 76-year-old George Thorogood is one of the most accomplished blues-rockers out there.

With mega-hits including "I Drink Alone," "Move It On Over," and of course, "Bad To The Bone," Thorogood and his band, The Destroyers, are known for their gritty tone and catchy riffs. Thorogood was born in Wilmington, Delaware.

Some of the most iconic singles populating classic rock radio have been penned by Tom Petty, who died in 2017. From "American Girl" to "Learning to Fly" and "Wildflowers," it seemed as if anything Tom Petty touched turned to gold. Or rather platinum.

Petty's breakout third album, "Damn the Torpedoes," went triple platinum and launched the musician and his band, the Heartbreakers, into superstardom.

Throughout his nearly 40-year career, Petty, born in Gainesville, Florida, won three Grammys out of 18 nominations. Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Dubbed the "Godfather of Soul," James Brown set a new standard of showmanship while simultaneously molding the future of funk, soul, and rap music. Thanks to songs including "Papa's Got a Brand New Bag," "I Got You (I Feel Good)," and "It's a Man's Man's World," Brown scored 17 No. 1 hits and sold 50 million records during his career.

Brown won three Grammys out of eight nominations and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the inaugural class of 1986. 

He died in 2006 at 73.

Honolulu's Israel "Iz" Kamakawiwo'ole became the state of Hawaii's first platinum-selling artist in 2005 after the singer's hit 1993 album "Facing Future" sold more than 1 million CDs, according to the Honolulu Star Bulletin.

"Bruddah Iz," who died in 1997 at 38, has posthumously hit 1.6 billion views on YouTube for his iconic rendition of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow."

The outlet also reported that the medley has spent "a record 541 weeks on the World Digital Song Sales chart, including 332 non-consecutive weeks at No. 1 starting in 2011."

Although Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx, 67, wasn't born in Idaho, he has revealed that he spent a few formative teenage years living in the state.

Sixx helped Mötley Crüe receive three Grammy nominations, sell over 100 million albums worldwide, and record numerous chart-topping hits, including "Kickstart My Heart" and "Girls, Girls, Girls." 

Miles Davis, who died in 1991 at 65, is one of the most influential and innovative musicians in jazz history.

Born in Alton, Illinois, the trumpeter's landmark 1970 album is an improvisational jazz masterpiece that inspired countless fusion musicians and went platinum.

Albums like "Kind of Blue" and "In a Silent Way" were critically acclaimed and have remained among the best-selling jazz records of all time. Davis won eight Grammys out of 32 nominations, received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award, and 10 of his recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006.

What else can be said about the "King of Pop" that you don't already know? With 13 Grammys out of 38 nominations, a 2001 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and a 2026 biopic that grossed $1 billion worldwide, the wunderkind turned pop legend from Gary, Indiana, reigns supreme as one of the best performers in music history.

Jackson boasts a remarkable arsenal of hits, including "Thriller," "Beat It," and "Billie Jean," but was just as famous for his moonwalking.

Although his legacy has been marred by accusations of sexual abuse (most recently brought to light in the 2019 documentary "Leaving Neverland"), Jackson's music remains incredibly popular around the world, even 17 years after his death in 2009.

Glenn Miller, founder of the iconic jazz orchestra that bears his name, is a big-band pioneer responsible for dozens of Top 10 hits, including "In The Mood," "Moonlight Serenade," and "Chattanooga Choo Choo."

Miller, born in Clarinda, Iowa, was posthumously awarded the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2003, and many of his songs have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. His orchestra still tours and plays his music around the globe nearly 82 years after his death in 1944.

Melissa Etheridge, 65, who is from Leavenworth, Kansas, is known for her LGBTQ+ rights activism as much as she is for her raspy vocals and chart-topping singles.

Her breakthrough 1993 album "Yes I Am," which yielded the single "Come to My Window," peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and went 6x platinum. To date, Etheridge has been nominated for 15 Grammys and won two.

She was also part of the 2026 class of nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Jim James of Louisville, Kentucky, fronts the popular rock band My Morning Jacket and is known for his dreamy falsetto and masterful songwriting.

Since the band's debut album in 1999, James, 48, has become one of the most in-demand musicians, collaborating with everyone from The Roots to Elvis Costello and Kermit the Frog. With the Jacket, James has earned three Grammy nominations. He has also released a number of solo albums and collaborations. 

We named My Morning Jacket's "The Waterfall II" the best rock album of 2020. 

With a legendary career spanning from the 1920s to the '60s, Louis Armstrong emerged from New Orleans as an integral musician who would influence nearly every era of jazz music.

More importantly, before Armstrong, jazz was largely orchestrated and did not feature much improvisational soloing. The trumpeter made extended solos a mainstay of his performance and changed the landscape of how cats approached jazz standards forever, becoming one of the hottest musicians of the early 1900s in the process.

He's so important to New Orleans that the airport was named after him in 2001 to commemorate what would've been his 100th birthday.

Ray LaMontagne's guitar playing deeply affects listeners, and his intimate lyrics are a gut punch to the soul, evoking the happiest or saddest moments in life. Hits like "You Are The Best Thing" and "Jolene" have helped earn LaMontagne two Grammy nominations and one win.

The 53-year-old singer moved to Maine after high school and worked at a radio station, which is where he heard a Stephen Stills song that inspired him to pursue music.

Frank Zappa is one of the most prolific yet misunderstood composers of the 20th century, releasing 62 albums before his death in 1993. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later.

Born in Baltimore, Zappa was known for using intricate time signatures, syncopation, and zany (though sometimes offensive) topics in his songs. For Zappa, it wasn't about writing hit singles; it was about getting his genius on tape so that he could enjoy it, and if anyone else did, it was a bonus.

There are few singer-songwriters whose careers have been as successful as James Taylor.

The Boston-born musician has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, won six Grammys out of 19 nominations, and has been presented with countless awards including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Kennedy Center Honors, and a 2000 induction to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Taylor, 78, broke onto the scene in 1970 with his hit single "Fire and Rain" and went on to release dozens of other original songs and covers that continue to be crowd-pleasers at concerts. 

Stevie Wonder, 76, started his remarkable career as a child prodigy on Motown's Tamla label at age 11. He scored his first No. 1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 a year later with the single "Fingertips, Pt. 2," which made him the youngest solo artist to top the chart.

Wonder continued his career, releasing hit album after hit album and winning an incredible 25 Grammys from 75 nominations. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame back in 1989.

Wonder is one of only four artists to win album of the year three times in their career. His discography covers many genres from R&B to funk and blues, and Wonder's use of synthesizers helped launch R&B into new stylistic directions. 

Prince hit the ground running with his 1979 self-titled LP featuring the iconic jam "I Wanna Be Your Lover," which immediately established the singer as a force in the pop/funk realm.

Prince truly proved his genius with the 1984 release of "Purple Rain" — and its accompanying soundtrack — which launched him and his band into superstardom. The "Purple Rain" album sold over 13 million copies, spent 24 weeks at the top of the charts, and produced hits "When Doves Cry," "Purple Rain," and "Take Me with U."

Prince won seven Grammys and was nominated for 38, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004 before his death in 2016.

Across his career, he was closely tied to Minnesota, calling the state home for most of his life. His house, Paisley Park in Chanhassen, is open for Prince fans to tour. In fact, when the Super Bowl was played in Minneapolis in 2018, halftime headliner Justin Timberlake paid tribute to the "Let's Go Crazy" singer.

Elvis Presley, better known as the "The King of Rock and Roll," was a transformative figure who played an undeniable role in the trajectory of popular music in the US.

His sex appeal, matched with an electrified catalog of original materials and covers, propelled him to the top of the charts while laying the foundation for the electric blues and rock of the '60s and '70s. He was inducted posthumously into the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 (he died in 1977 at age 42).

Elvis was born and raised in Tupelo, Mississippi, before moving to Memphis, Tennessee, as a teenager. 

Similar to Elvis, Chuck Berry, nicknamed "The Father of Rock and Roll," played an integral part in the proliferation of the electric blues and rock 'n' roll.

His playing and, more importantly, his solos on songs like "Roll Over Beethoven," "Maybellene," and especially "Johnny B. Goode" turned thousands of listeners and guitar players onto this new genre of music, directly setting the course for the future of rock music.

Berry, who was born in St. Louis, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its 1986 inaugural class and has topped many lists of the greatest musicians and guitarists. He died in 2017 at age 90.

Pearl Jam bassist and cofounder Jeff Ament, 63, was born in Havre, Montana, but moved to Seattle in the 1980s, where he then met the rest of the guys from Pearl Jam, with whom he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017.

Ament is recognized for his skill on the upright and fretless bass, in addition to the electric bass. He also played in the band Temple of the Dog and has released three solo albums.

Bright Eyes front man Conor Oberst, 46, takes the top spot for the state of Nebraska.

The Omaha-born rocker and his band have had notable chart success: In 2005, their album "I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning" peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard 200, and their 2007 album "Cassadaga" peaked at No. 4.

After a nine-year hiatus, the band released a new album, "Down In the Weeds, Where the World Once Was," in 2020. Another album, "Five Dices, All Threes," came out in 2024.

Brandon Flowers, 45, lead singer of the Las Vegas band The Killers, has contributed some of the most popular alt-rock tunes of the past 20 years.

Flowers and Co. have had three albums reach No. 1 on Billboard's rock charts — but their legacy, at this point, will be the enduring millennial classic, "Mr. Brightside."

He also has his own solo career, with his latest album "Thrasher" getting released in August 2026.

We listed The Killers' "Imploding the Mirage" as one of the best rock albums of 2020. 

Noah Kahan, 29, is probably equally associated with Vermont and New Hampshire (and, to some extent, Maine), but we're putting him with the Granite State because he went to high school in Hanover.

Kahan's been nominated for two Grammys, has one of the best-selling albums of 2026 with "The Great Divide," and his signature song, "Stick Season," has been streamed nearly 2 billion times on Spotify.

There are many great musicians from New Jersey, including Frankie Valli, Bruce Springsteen, and Bon Jovi, but Frank Sinatra stands preeminent above all others.

Born in Hoboken, Sinatra went on to sell over 150 million records and win 9 Grammys from 31 nominations.

Hits like "(Theme From) New York, New York," "Fly Me To The Moon," and "You Make Me Feel so Young" were favorites for many generations of Americans and established Sinatra as one of the most prolific singers, performers, and actors of the 20th century before his death in 1998.

Demi Lovato, the Disney star turned pop sensation from Albuquerque, New Mexico, has dominated the charts for more than a decade.

She's had multiple albums and singles hit the top of the Billboard charts, including "Give Your Heart a Break" and "Sorry Not Sorry," earning serious airplay. Lovato, 34, has been nominated for two Grammys and, in 2015, launched Be Vocal: Speak Up for Mental Health, an organization that promotes mental health awareness.

Like Sinatra, Bennett became one of the greatest singers and showmen of the 20th century.

Bennett continued to perform well into his nineties before his death in 2023, while hit songs like "I Left My Heart In San Francisco," "The Way You Look Tonight," and "Rags to Riches" have been covered by numerous musicians.

Bennett, who was born in Astoria, Queens, won 19 Grammys out of 41 nominations, received the Kennedy Center Honors, and won a host of other impressive awards. 

John Coltrane is one of the most influential saxophonists and composers in jazz music history. Coltrane's experimentation with free and avant-garde jazz, and with modes and cyclical chord progressions, helped propel the genre into new boundaries.

During his career, Coltrane, who was born in Hamlet, North Carolina, collaborated with many of the genre's best, including Miles Davis and Thelonious Monk. In 2016, the jazz icon was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize. He died at age 40 in 1967.

Wiz Khalifa released his debut album in 2006, but didn't truly break into the mainstream until his debut single for Atlantic Records, "Black and Yellow," hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.

Since then, the 39-year-old rapper (who was born in Minot, North Dakota, before eventually settling in Pittsburgh) has remained one of the most popular, earning 10 Grammy nominations and appearing on some of the hottest songs of the past two decades.

The singer, actor, and comedian Dean Martin was born in Steubenville, Ohio, and got his start singing in nightclubs near his hometown.

Martin quickly outgrew his humble upbringing and went on to become one of America's greatest entertainers, pleasing viewers with his suave croonings for over five decades. He enjoyed a bountiful solo career singing jazz and contemporary standards before becoming the host of his eponymous, iconic variety show. Martin died in 1995 at 78.

Garth Brooks is one of the best-selling solo artists of all time with over 162 million album sales. Additionally, he's the only artist to appear on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in five consecutive decades: the '80s, '90s, '00s, '10s, and '20s.

Brooks, 64, has had multiple albums top the Billboard charts, and he has won two Grammys out of 14 nominations. Brooks is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a graduate of Oklahoma State University. 

Elliott Smith, to quote another iconic musician, is your favorite artist's favorite artist. The indie legend, who grew up in Portland, Oregon, has been covered by everyone from Frank Ocean to Billie Eilish to Madonna.

His signature song, "Needle in the Hay," has been immortalized on film in Wes Anderson's classic "The Royal Tenenbaums." Pitchfork also named it one of the best songs of the '90s.

Smith was nominated for an Academy Award for the song "Miss Misery," which was used in "Good Will Hunting."

Sadly, he died in 2003. He was just 34.

What is there to say about Taylor Swift? She's the only artist to ever win album of the year four times at the Grammys — and has won 14 from 58 nominations — and has countless other records to her name. The Eras Tour was a cultural phenomenon and the first tour to gross $1 billion; it eventually surpassed $2 billion.

Swift may have gotten her start in country music and has an association with Nashville, but her roots are in Pennsylvania. She was born in West Reading and lived in PA until she was a teenager.

Abraham Orellana, 37, better known by his stage name araabMUZIK, is a producer and DJ from Providence, Rhode Island, who has worked with rap and hip-hop giants including Cam'ron, ASAP Rocky, and Joe Budden.

He contributed to Jay Electronica's Grammy-nominated 2020 album and has played major festivals, including Coachella and Pitchfork. 

Darius Rucker, 60, rose to fame as the singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie and the Blowfish, which produced multiple Top 10 singles and the hit album "Cracked Rear View," which sold over 16 million copies in the US.

Following his stint with Hootie, the Charleston, South Carolina, native has enjoyed a successful solo career, yielding eight studio albums and hit songs like the Grammy Award-winning "Wagon Wheel" (a cover of Old Crow Medicine Show's song) and "Come Back Song." 

Singer-songwriter Shawn Colvin's claim to fame came during the late '80s and '90s when her 1989 album, "Steady On," won a Grammy for best contemporary folk album.

Her fourth studio album, 1996's "A Few Small Repairs," won her another pair of Grammys and produced the chart-topping single "Sunny Came Home." Colvin, 70, was born in Vermillion, South Dakota. 

As we wrote in our timeline of the singer's impressive career: Parton was "equal parts country megastar, actor, and philanthropist."

Parton released a whopping 49 studio albums, won 10 Grammys out of 55 nominations, and generated millions in revenue for her hometown near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, thanks to her theme park, Dollywood.

Her death in 2026 at age 80 caused such an outpouring of grief around the world that the president ordered the flags to be lowered.

Willie Nelson is an absolute legend in the folk and country worlds. He was born in Abbott, Texas, in 1933, and moved back to Austin in 1972. He's lived there ever since.

He's responsible for writing and performing some of the genre's most iconic songs and helping develop the outlaw country subgenre.

Nelson, 93, scored 20 No. 1 and 40 Top 10 hits during his six-decade career. He also won 12 Grammys out of 59 nominations.

Dan Reynolds, 39, is the front man of Imagine Dragons, a band with close ties to Salt Lake City. While Reynolds was born and raised in Nevada, he moved to Salt Lake City for college, where he formed the band. They went on to win a Battle of the Bands contest, laying the groundwork for their current success.

Imagine Dragons was the first rock act to have four songs surpass 1 billion streams on Spotify ("Radioactive," "Demons," "Believer," and "Thunder"). They've also won one Grammy from four nominations and are among the best-selling rock acts of the 21st century.

In addition to his work as guitarist and lead vocalist for the Grammy-nominated jam band Phish — which was formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 — Trey Anastasio, 62, has released a score of solo albums and is a member of the band Oysterhead with Primus bassist Les Claypool and The Police drummer Stewart Copeland.

He has also collaborated with the Grateful Dead, Dave Matthews, and Herbie Hancock, and has performed original compositions with orchestras around the country.

Ella Fitzgerald, known as "The First Lady of Song," was the most popular jazz singer for more than half a century, according to her website, and sold more than 40 million records before her death in 1996.

Known for her scat singing and dynamic range, Fitzgerald, who was born in Newport News, Virginia, worked with many of the great performers of the 20th century, including Duke Ellington, Count Basie, and Frank Sinatra.

Among other accolades, Fitzgerald won 13 Grammys out of 20 nominations, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and won the National Medal of Arts. 

Jimi Hendrix's guitar playing is among the most influential of all time, his albums are consistently ranked among the best in rock history, and his mark on the rock landscape is unforgettable.

For many, Hendrix, who died in 1970 at 27, is the best to ever pick up the guitar, thanks in no small part to the innovations he brought to the instrument, including fuzz distortion and the wah-wah effect. Simply put, there's no denying that Hendrix, who was born in Seattle, is deserving of the most famous spot from Washington state. 

Dubbed the "Prince of Motown," Marvin Gaye, who died in 1984, originally burst onto the scene with hits like "I Heard It Through The Grapevine" to become one of the label's brightest stars.

Gaye dropped his biggest album, "What's Going On," in 1971 to critical acclaim. Subsequent albums such as 1973's "Let's Get It On" and 1982's "Midnight Love" yielded chart-topping hits and directly influenced the future of funk and R&B.

Gaye, who was born and raised in DC, won two Grammys out of 12 nominations and posthumously received the Recording Academy's Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996. He was also posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1987.

Since his debut album "Who Needs Pictures" dropped in 1999, Brad Paisley, 53, has found nothing but success, winning three Grammys, two American Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 14 Country Music Association Awards.

The Glen Dale, West Virginia, native has had 33 songs reach the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot Country chart, 18 of which were No. 1 hits.

Hailing from Eau Claire, Wisconsin, Justin Vernon, 45, is known for his high-reaching falsetto and mix of traditional and boundary-pushing folk/indie rock songwriting.

Vernon has found commercial and critical success as the singer and front man of the indie rock band Bon Iver, which has won two Grammys out of 11 nominations, including best new artist and best alternative music album for the group's self-titled album "Bon Iver, Bon Iver."

Although his brother Seth was born in North Carolina, the state from which the band The Avett Brothers originates, Scott Avett, 50, was born in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The Grammy-nominated band Scott helped form is a delightful mix of bluegrass, folk, and indie rock known for its intimate sound and lyrics. The Avett Brothers have released 16 studio albums and EPs, the most recent of which, "The Avett Brothers," dropped in May 2024.