I live in the Northeast, and I was just wondering what the first spring
blooms are. Or I should say, what should I plant to have my gardening bursting
in color early on in the spring? I live in zones 5-6

Sorry, gardens around here don't burst. They start off with a whisper & burst
in May. Try the following:
Early species Crocus, such as tomasinianus.
The hybrid Dutch crocus come a little later & louder, starting with 'Dutch
Yellow Mammouth.'
Early daffodils.
Pussy willow.
Black willow, Salix gracilistyla 'Melanostachys.' Last year mine bloomed in
February.
Inquire at your local nurseries.

Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much
that ain't so."
Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw), 1818-1885