Best Pop Culture Museum (2022)

The modernization of Las Vegas has led to the decommissioning of many an iconic neon sign. The Neon Museum was founded in 1996 to collect and preserve these cultural relics. Visitors can see the Neon Boneyard – filled with more than 200 historic signs – on an hour-long guided tour.
Photo courtesy of The Neon Museum

The 28,000-square-foot GRAMMY Museum Mississippi opened its doors in 2011 with two dozen exhibits exploring American music history in the state. Mississippi was chosen as the site for this second GRAMMY Museum due to its rich musical heritage – the state has more GRAMMY winners per capital than any other state in the nation.
Photo courtesy of GRAMMY Museum Mississippi

This museum showcases the roles Bristol, Tennessee and Bristol, Virginia played in the development of country music. The Smithsonian affiliate traces this musical history back to the 1927 Bristol Sessions recording – a recording that helped shape the sound of commercial country music. The collection includes photographs, printed music, recordings, concert posters, instruments and a variety of recording and playback gear.
Photo courtesy of Neil Staples

Patsy Cline died young – she was only 30 years old – but she left a big mark on the American country music industry. This Nashville museum explores her life and work through artifacts, personal belongings, video and audio recordings and costumes.
Photo courtesy of Patsy Cline Museum

The wonderful world of the Wizard of Oz comes to life at the OZ Museum, where visitors can see more than 2,000 artifacts from the film, like hand-jeweled ruby slippers, a reproduction of the haunted forest and original movie production notes.
Photo courtesy of Reflections Photography

Yes, this is the hall of fame for rock stars. This museum on the Lake Erie shores in Cleveland opened shop in 1995. Today, visitors can experience four different theaters, seven floors of exhibits, all kinds of interactive stations and more, while learning about some of the most influential rock musicians in history. 
Photo courtesy of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame

The Stax Museum is one of only a few museums in the world dedicated to soul music, and it claims to be the only museum that focuses specifically on American soul. This Memphis-based museum is stationed at the original location of the Stax Records studio, where legendary musicians recorded, such as Isaac Hayes, Booker T and Otis Redding. Visitors see more than 2,000 related artifacts, browse soul music museums and check out exhibits. Don’t miss the films that feature other influential soul artists, such as Al Green and Patti LaBelle.
Photo courtesy of Lance Murphey

Rancho Obi-Wan houses the world’s largest collection of Star Wars memorabilia, certified by the Guinness World Records. Visits (by appointment only) give fans an opportunity to see a huge assortment of action figures and props, as well as vintage pinball and arcade games.
Photo courtesy of Rancho Obi-Wan Museum

The B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola celebrates the blues – America's music – and the man who helped spread its popularity around the world. Interactive exhibits and artifacts trace the history of the blues through its Mississippi Delta roots through the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.
Photo courtesy of B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center

Signs. They’re all around us. They’re emblematic of American free enterprise, tourism, and advertising. This museum in Cincinnati about commercial signs and sign making covers 20,000 square feet of indoor space and over a century of American history. Kids are wide-eyed with the fascination with colors and shapes all around them, and adults will reminisce about signs from their own childhoods. Whether it’s a bronze lawyer’s door sign, advertising brochures, antique sign painter’s kits, or a 1944 Dodge crane truck for installing signs, they’ve got it. 10Best Contributor Chez Chesak notes, “Covering more than 100 years of sign history, the museum is a surprisingly beautiful walk through the development of American signage.”
Photo courtesy of magnez2 // Getty Images