Ok I'll shoot. I'll go by region
NE:
1. Pitt: Really high volume. Good academic reputation. Reportedly fellow heavy. Strong in HPB and transplant. We have a poster here who is a current resident but I haven't seen him post in a while so not sure if will get much from him.
2. NYU: You basically have to decide if you want to live in Manhattan. Expensive and very different flavor. Lots of autonomy but also lots of scut because of the Bellevue thing. Has had a lot of turnover in the leadership since I interviewed there so I don't know how it is now.
3. Maryland: Didn't interview there, no nothing about it
South:
1. Vandy: I really loved this program on the interview trail and ranked it very highly. Dr. Tarpley is a really awesome guy and makes a unique impression. Buuuut if I recall correctly he just retired? He seemed like a force in that program so I don't know what the impact of him stepping down will be. Oh and their top surgical oncologist just left for a new institution - but faculty attrition happens all the time so I don't know that I'd factor that in too much.
2. UTSW: Huge program. Reputation for lots of autonomy and high quality training. Parkland shapes a lot of the experience there. You have to decide based on the list you've given here whether you want a residency that centers around a big public hospital (UTSW, Emory, NYU), or one that centers around a big academic medical center (Vandy, Michigan, Pitt, UCLA, etc).
@balaguru is public about having trained there so I don't think they'll mind me bat-signaling them.
3. Emory: I wanted to like this program more than I ended up liking it. I don't really remember anything in specific about it. Also has had a lot of leadership change - I believe they still have an interim chair and are in a search for a new chair? I really like their current PD - he interviewed me but he was the associate PD at that time. I didn't like how many hospitals they have to go to - seemed decentralized.
Midwest:
1. Michigan: Really strong for academics/research. Their residents seem to be at a lot of the meetings and very active/productive. I really loved this one on the interview trail too and thought they sold themselves really well on the interview day - very clinically busy in addition to the academics, good resident cameraderie.
2. Wisconsin: One of the biggest pleasant surprises to me on the interview trail. I didn't know much about it ahead of time but I really liked their residents and seemed like a great place. They are likely to lose one of their biggest names (Herbert Chen) in the near future as he is frequently talked about as someone who will be a dept chair soon. They just hired Caprice Greenberg a couple years ago who is a big name in outcomes research.
3. Northwestern: I know a couple people here who seem very happy with their experience. Very strong connection with the American College of Surgeons NSQIP - since they are in Chicago. Karl Bilimoria is probably one of the biggest up and comers (I think he's only been a faculty for 3 or 4 years?); very productive researcher and is heading up the FIRST study.
4. Chicago: I didn't interview at this one and don't know it as well. But I really like Dr. Posner - head of surg onc. They had two really strong students last year applying and both of them chose to stay (I think?), which usually says good things about the place.
West:
1. UCLA: This was a weird interview day for me. One of my interviewers had to cancel last minute so they brought in a faculty who was super negative and basically told me not to go there because the residents have no camaraderie and backstab each other. Then after that, I interviewed with one of the chiefs who basically said "OMG they let you talk to Dr. XXX - they don't let him interview anyone because he's so negative!". So yeah that whole thing gave me a weird vibe. Very impressive fellowship match list. Lots of research. Beautiful hospital.
2. OHSU: Didn't interview there, don't know much about it.
*Disclaimer - I'm just one person, and I'm just a resident. It's also been 5 years since I did this so a lot has changed over time. These opinions are a combination of my impressions from the interview trail combined with what my faculty have said and I've observed/heard from other residents over time.