Even though New Jersey suffers from pollution, a bad reputation and Camden, I think it's a beautiful state. It's got beautiful beaches, nice mountains, and is in close proximity to NYC. And despite it being the most densely populated state, there's an unbelievable amount of rural areas. I feel like I'm in the country more than the city when I drive through NJ. And I don't just go one place. I've gone northwest to Sussex, south to Ocean, north through Bergen and on the NJ Turnpike. The only densly populated trip was the Bergen way.
From my studying of the states, I'd can't really say what the best state is. When it comes to weather, Hawaii and Southern California are nice. When it comes to diverse geography, California wins because it holds a rainforest, the hottest and driest desert in North America, Sierra Nevada, a nice mountain range, nice beaches both northern and southern, and is basically it's own country. I'd mainly say California is like this because it's unusually big.
Not sure if I'd call it one of the best but Alaska is very interesting with it's climate and height extremeties.
In the end, I don't think there is any greatest state. My favorites are Pennsylvania, New York and New Jersey.
(I like Connecticut and Rhode Island because I know they have lots of old money there and there's something fascinating about authentic preps)