A clever entry last year on the website "Thinking Pseudogeographically," entitled "50 States, 50 Television Shows," considered which TV shows are most synonymous with each state.

"Cheers," for instance represented Massachusetts; "Seinfeld," New York; and, "The Dukes of Hazzard," Georgia.

The feature itself borrowed from an earlier Huffington Post spotlight on movies associated with each state, entitled "The United States of Movies."

"The Wizard of Oz" embodied Kansas; "My Cousin Vinny," Alabama; and, of course, "Fargo," North Dakota.

15 Awesome 'America' Songs

For July 4th, Chart Beat again spins off the fun premise by assigning 50 musical artists to 50 states. (In most cases, the representative artist was born in his or her chosen state. In a few others, or in the case of groups, states were picked based on the states in which acts spent their formative years).

Please note that all selections are not based on strict Billboard chart methodology, but merely opinion, although chart history was strongly considered.

Thus, please feel free to agree or disagree with choices in the comments section below. Or, e-mail askbb@billboard.com. (Better, though, to save your real arguments for who gets the last hot dog, hamburger or steak at the barbecue this weekend).

Have a happy and safe Fourth and enjoy our appreciation of musical acts born in the U.S.A., state by state.


Northeast

Maine: Stephen Hague. To start, a producer, not a known performer. Hague, born in Portland, has, perhaps surprisingly, produced hits most notably recorded by British bands, including Pet Shop Boys ("West End Girls"), New Order ("True Faith") and Erasure ("A Little Respect").


New Hampshire: Ray Lamontagne. The Nashua folk/rocker has reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200 with 2008's "Gossip in the Grain" and last year's "God Willin' & the Creek Don't Rise."


Vermont: Who else but Phish? The jam band formed at the University of Vermont in Burlington in 1983. Ben & Jerry's, headquartered in nearby Waterbury, famously concocted its "Phish Food" ice cream flavor as a tasty tribute.


Massachusetts: Aerosmith - the "Bad Boys from Boston" - bests such worthy fellow Bay Staters as James Taylor, New Kids on the Block, the Cars, Boston, Dropkick Murphys and Mighty Mighty Bosstones. (Points to Taylor for praising the state's beauty "from Stockbridge to Boston," but points also removed for traitorous tales that revealed Mexico and Carolina to be on his mind).

Rhode Island: Jeffrey Osborne. The Providence-born R&B singer fronted L.T.D. before launching a solo career that yielded such hits as 1984's "Stay With Me Tonight" (a Rhody radio favorite).


Connecticut: John Mayer. A slight edge over New Haven native Michael Bolton, if only since "No Such Thing" so clearly evokes images of Mayer's alma mater, Fairfield High School.


New York: Some states were almost impossible to symbolize via only one act. Such New York-born superstars include Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey, Debbie Harry (central to New York City's '70s punk insurgence), Lady Gaga and, of course, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys (while "New York, New York"-er Frank Sinatra was born in New Jersey). Before "Empire State of Mind," however, the Bronx's Billy Joel was often in a New York state of mind, from 52nd Street to his Uptown girl.


New Jersey: If from almost any other state, Bon Jovi would surely (shore-ly?) make this list in bold print. Bruce Springsteen, however, makes New Jersey perhaps the easiest decision of all, with an honorary nod to the late, great Clarence Clemons (even if he was born in Virginia). (Not as easy a choice for my mother, who implored, "How can you not pick Connie Francis?!")

Pennsylvania: Wyomissing's Taylor Swift, the best-selling digital track artist in Nielsen SoundScan history, proves that you don't need to hail from the South to make great country music. She is also the only woman to pull five Country Songs top 10s from each of her first two albums. Runners-up: with their blue-eyed Philly soul, Daryl Hall & John Oates.


Delaware: George Thorogood. The Wilmington-born guitar hero's "Greatest Hits: 30 Years of Rock" has spent the most weeks (57) of all entries on Billboard's Blues Albums chart.


Maryland: From Severn, Toni Braxton has enjoyed four No. 1s on R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and 11 top 10s, including two No. 1s, on R&B/Hip-Hop Songs between 1992 and 2010. After wrapping the first season of the WE's "Braxton Family Values" last month, Braxton returns the series next year. "We all hoped people could relate to our family dynamic and are thrilled with the positive response we have received," she said. "We are all very much looking forward to bringing you another eventful season."


Next: the Southeast, from Dollywood to the boy from Tupelo