I was at a bar with a friend of mine from Alaska. Another friend of ours, from Ohio, commented on how our accents sound the same. Well, of course we disagreed, and then today my Alaskan friend sent me this link:

http://www.pbs.org/speak/seatosea/americanvarieties/

It's a neat little website about region varieties of American English. There have been threads about British, Scottish, and Irish varieties, but I want to point out the linguistic flavors that we enjoy in the US. Unfortunately, they leave out a lot of big ones (Boston, Yupper, Upper New England, etc.) but it gives you a good overview.

Check out the site, and explore all of the links on the page. There's a lot of great stuff. The DARE section is a place to listen and compare the different accents. (I've been told mine is halfway between the Superior, WI and the Chicago, IL accent.)