43. Spokane, WA

For the small town folks of Washington, Idaho, and Montana who are looking to live it up, Spokane serves as the perfect bigger small-city weekend getaway. While most of the nearby locations can not draw big names in live music, Spokane often snags them. Although the crowd at the human gimmick Kid Rock's concert was suspect and I was very sick, the venue allowed for a great time (gimmicks always go over well... and Kid Rock actually has more talent than most would expect).Spokane is a great place for those who desire a happy medium between small-city life and nature. Whether it's camping, watersports, or skiing, the city pretty much has it. There are better places to see nearby as far as pure natural beauty goes, but Spokane is a good place to start from if you like to be around people too.The nightlife is pretty decent as well. There are a few small-scale dance clubs with a more intimate hip-hop/hook-up scene as well as the larger scale, video screen, multi-level, more openly sexual hip-hop/techno club. At the larger one, expect metal detectors and groping hands as you enter and a packed house full of more groping hands once you hit the bar and dance floor.