Washington, DC

At just 17 minutes, the show in Washington, DC is one of the shortest fireworks displays on our list, but it's one of America's best. For pure patriotic fervor, the setting can't be beat: An eight-man crew launches the shells right on the National Mall, equidistant between the Washington Monument and the Lincoln Memorial. Pyro Shows of LaFollette, Tennessee choreographs nothing but high-altitude shells; each is designed to break higher than the Washington Monument's 555-foot peak. New this year: An Olympic-themed shell, which breaks into five interlocking rings.