I’ve taken every plate in the USA — one from all 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, the five US overseas territories, and special plates used by the Federal Government, and sorted them according to my preferences, ranking on originality of design, technical execution, and quality of the concept. I’ve also awarded bonus points for some which I think are particularly fun.
OP are you the author? I disagree with your rankings but enjoyed your commentary. You have good insights into intra-state social dynamics too. Thanks for posting.
OP is making the classic mistake of form over function. The colorful backgrounds of the top license plates look nice in photos but they make it more difficult to read a license plate number on a moving vehicle.
Since design should take function into consideration, I think some of the more esthetically pleasing plates, at least according to OP, would be considered to have poor design.
Sure the plain plates are a little boring but I'd rather have a boring, easily legible plate than a pretty, indecipherable one any day.