Alright, I’ll admit it. I’ll be the first to stand in front of our circle of readers and say it: “my name is Tim, and I have a problem. I’m addicted to desktop wallpaper.” I even have small tray apps and scripts which cycle my wallpaper randomly every few minutes.
As you can imagine, I have a rather extensive collection. And like any collector, I’m very selective about what I choose to admit to my precious gallery. I’ve trolled through hundreds of wallpaper sites wading through thousands of images to select the best of the best. Which sites get most of my love?
#1
– Customize.org is my favourite of the bunch, and probably the most popular too. The interface is simple and it’s easy to find wallpaper that you like and move quickly through the collection. The only thing missing is the ability to sort by resolution.
#2
– deviantART is a website for independent artists to post and share their work. The site attracts some of the most talented artists in the world, so it’s no wonder that you can find some amazing wallpaper here. I’ll actually note that some of the other wallpaper sites link to artists Deviantart accounts.
#3
– Desktopography is a consortium of absolutely brilliant artists who produce art to enhance the desktop experience. The website itself is stunning and professional. Since the group is invitation only, my wish would be that they opened a forum for farming talent, increasing their volume.
#4
– Socwall.com is “a community effort to classify, rank, and distribute high resolution images for use as desktop wallpaper.” They have a wonderful collection and great navigation to find what you like. Oh and they have DUAL MONITOR wallpaper! Those of us who have a multi-display setup know how amazing that is!
#5
– Mandolux has beautiful art—perhaps the best and most brilliant of all these sites. Almost all of the images have options for dual or triple screens in many resolutions, which is amazing and unique. There’s a lot of great stuff here, but unfortunately, it’s very difficult to navigate since the directory page has no thumbnails, and to see the images you have to use a linear ‘forward’ and ‘back’ system. But it’s still one of my favourites, so feel free to donate.
#6
– *-look.org is a set of sites where Linux users can post some desktop bling. Windows users will still find some pretty amazing art, even if you don’t want a big-bad Ubuntu logo in the middle of your screen : ) So check it out. See also KDE-Look, XFCE-Look, box-Look, Beryl-Themes, Compiz-Themes
#7
– Desktop nexus is wonderfully organized and has a rather innovative download system which automatically detects your screen’s resolution. If the image doesn’t match, it will help you generate one to fit your screen from the original. In some cases, I think that can be a mistake, but for most users I think it’s a great idea.
#8
– Dualscreenwallpaper.com has a good offering. It’s good all around, but not necessarily fair to say all of the wallpapers here are dual screen. And even if they were, single screen users can find good stuff here, so don’t skip over it.
#9
– Wincustomize.com has been around for a while. It has skins for almost anything skinable in Windows, but also has a great section with desktop wallpaper. There’s LOTS to choose from, but unfortunately you can’t sort by resolution.
#10
– Pixelgirlpresents.com has lots of good wallpaper, but a lot of it is a little… fluffy for my tastes. Although most of the wallpapers appeal to the more feminine sex, there is some dude-friendly stuff there too. There is also a selection of iPhone wallpaper.
