Best Music Acts In 50 States

[Music] The Boston Phoenix and ThePhoenix.com recently compiled a list of top bands across America. Categories included All-Time Best Band, All-Time Best Solo Artist and Best New Band. And the Utah winners are...

The Osmonds
Donny Osmond
GAZA

The Osmonds? Here is the criteria judges used to make their decisions:

* Best All-Time Solo Artist: One ground rule: The artist had to be BORN in that state. If the state you’re born in is good enough to follow you around on your passport for the rest of your life, it’s good enough for this list. Our winners range from Motown superstar Stevie Wonder (Michigan) to native Aleut psychedelic nuggeteer Agafon Krukoff (Alaska) to psychobilly pioneer Hasil Adkins (West Virginia).

* Best All-Time Band: Based on where the band was formed. Winners range from the obvious (Velvet Underground, New York) to the historical (The Mississippi Sheiks, Mississippi) to the lesser-known (The Pink Slips, North Dakota).

* Best New Band: Here we combed the country looking for the best 50 newish bands in the land. Our judges tried to balance “newness” with quality to achieve the perfect choice. (Some of the bands in this category have been around for a couple of years, but only a few have begun to really reap national attention.) Our winners range from experimental hip-hop (Minnesota's Doomtree) to avant noise punk (California's Health) to jangly indie rock (Alabama's Wild Sweet Orange).

The best part? Good old Boston Phoenix chose the Osmonds, then proceeded to poke fun at them. Why choose them at all?

Who would you have picked?

(Jamie Gadette)