Top 5 non-mega museums.
1. McMichael Art Gallery near Toronto - Specifically for its collection of the most underappreciated artists ever to paint in North America, the "Group of Seven."
2. The Barnes Foundation, Merion, PA - This man made a fortune in pharmeceuticals at the beginning of the century, then hoarded all the popular works of art before they were cool (Monet, Matisse, Cezanne, etc.).
3. Isabella Stuart Gardner Musueum, Boston - Handwritten letter from Napolean, First Edition Divine Comedy, not to mention some great art - if you go, make sure you talk to the guard on the ground floor by the coat-checks.
4. The Cloisters- Rockefeller money (like everything else in NYC) bought this extension of the Met in way north Manhattan - houses most of the Christian artwork of the Met's collection.
5. The Frick Collection, NYC. Worth it for to see this painting alone.