Thanks to the soda specialists I've visited in both Glendale (CA) and outside Minneapolis I've had a chance to taste a lot of regional, cane sure colas and root beers and I can say there's a lot of great stuff out there --I don't know if I can pick anything anymore.
Quirky stuff to, if you're willing to try ancient brands like Moxie (which was supplanted by the less bitter Coke) or the stuff out of places like Jamaica (lots of fun spices in there).
Also, I first heard of Cheerwine in college when a girl from NC kept telling us how awesome it was. Her dad shipped her some, we tried it and... bleh. No one liked it. I tried it again over 10 years later and it's still not my type of sweet taste.
I should take a photo of what I have on hand right now (it's a lot of different stuff).