Next time you need a map for your project, check out the d-maps.com website. With over 95,000 maps available, you can choose from thousands of unique locations and then download it in WMF, SVG, PDF, or other formats for your use. Completely free of charge, they’re even available for commercial use (provided you give them a link, it’s all in their T&C’s).
I went down to an individual US state and found over 40 different maps to choose from, each one available in 5 or 6 different formats. Including ocean and land, countries and states, historical and current, and even different map projections, it’s a pretty amazing collection.
There is a linked tool (Excel graphic addin) called BeGraphic that is also free.
It gives colors to the blank maps, making them data-driven (choropleth maps). It gives away an impressive library of sparklines.
http://www.begraphic.com/download.html