If you have to stare at something for 8 or more hours a day, why not make it something interesting? Sure there are tons of places to find wallpaper on the web … but a lot of them are hard to navigate and highly disorganized. Divided into five helpful categories, with introductory descriptions and sample screenshots, here are over twenty of the best collections, communities and other resources on the web for finding excellent desktop wallpaper.
User-Submitted Wallpaper Communities:
InterFaceLift has a really useful system for cross-tagging wallpapers by size, category and type. You can browse their selection by most viewed, highest rated, date posted as well as by monitor size and aspect ratio as well as double and even triple-monitor. All in all this is one of the best and most user-friendly wallpaper databases out there.
SocWall is another community dedicated specifically to “social wallpapering” – users sharing wallpaper by category and voting on one another’s submissions. Because it is a free-for-all submission-wise there is a wide (and somewhat weird) variety of content. However, it is highly searchable and organized relatively well by fairly detailed categories.
Flickr has almost 25,000 wallpaper uploads by Flickr users. Of course any collection like this is bound to be hard to sort through and filled with good and bad but it’s still worth bookmarking. You can also search Flick using this handy wallpaper search engine.
Wikipedia is a place we all know to look for various kinds of information … but wallpaper? Indeed, there is an ever-changing collection of featured desktop wallpapers contributed to the Wikipedia Commons.
DeviantArt isn’t dedicated to wallpaper per say but many of the works of art featured on the site would make (and have made) amazing wallpaper depending upon the restrictions set upon a particular piece within the community.
WebShots is yet another user-submitted image site stocked mainly with photographs but also the occasional Photoshopped or otherwise digitally created image.
Photographic and Conventionally Pleasing Wallpapers:
SocksOff’s collection of wallpapers is primarily photographic or at least pseudo-photorealistic, full of rich colors that are in many cases absolutely stunning. Looking at these one could imagine finding a wallpaper for virtually any kind or color of computer that would blend perfectly with other elements on your screen as well.
Mike Swanson has collected a lot of his close-up-photograph wallpapers into one convenient location on his blog. The typical subject matter is floral or otherwise natural with a smattering of found objects thrown into the mix, usual shot from a few feet away.
Gran-Angular has some nice but somewhat generic photographic wallpapers. These are certainly nicer than standard stock images and higher resolution though overall they aren’t too far off the beaten path. Worth taking a look at for less-adventurous wallpaper-seekers out for something simple and nice.
Wallpaper Stock has some fairly atypical categories including “sexy” and “Christian” though is overall fairly tame and largely limited to photographic wallpaper of a relatively normal variety. Still, it is an interestingly eclectic mix with unusual organization.
Fantastic and Creatively Abstract Wallpapers:
Fantasy Art Design has a collection of wallpaper that would make Salvador Dali proud. The subjects range considerably but are typically surrealistic landscapes that place with light, color and physics with crisp and compelling details all around.
Vlad Studios deals mainly in simple but abstract wallpapers with a clear and focused theme or set of cartoonish and playful elements. These range from hearts and rainbows to somewhat more serious subjects but are largely light-hearted in nature.
Veer puts a decidedly retro twist on the art of desktop wallpaper. A lot of them are abstract and/or text-based and more hip and crisp than other wallpapers. The designs are conveniently available in various sizes, including ones suitable to the iPhone.
Pixel Girl Presents has wallpaper of virtually all kinds, submitted by users then approved by administrators, but the overall tone of the content is whimsical, fantastic and alternative rather than photorealistic, hence its inclusion in this category.
Mixed Wallpaper Collections and Designs:
Riccardo Iaconelli’s blog features last year’s fifteen winners of the Oxygen wallpaper design contest. Because the designers are all different the results are, of course, quite varied. Some are abstract while others are nature-themed and all are quite nice.
E-Wallpapers hasn’t been updated for some time but was once an active blog dedicated to interesting wallpaper. Still, even their older archives contain some wallpapers you may discover is still a beautiful and artistic today as when they were created.
Crestock has not one but two collections of nifty wallpapers, the first with 13 and the second with 17. These are a mixed back of photography and abstractia.
Specialty and Specific Niche Wallpapers:
Dual Screen Wallpapers features, as the name suggests, wallpaper specifically designed to be suited to wider and split screens. In some cases this means there is a natural break in the pattern somewhere toward the middle. These wallpapers are divided up into various categories including space, vehicles and abstract – something for everyone.
Zuneo has a great series of FireFox wallpapers. The theme is pretty limiting but if you love FireFox they are well worth checking out and range from simple to quite elegant and intricate. Want even more? DesktopNexus has another set.
Other Awesome Wallpaper Collections:
Smashing Magazine also composed a collection of wallpaper resources a while back and divided into five categories: typography, art, technology, photography and abstract themes. “Among other things we review calendar wallpapers, minimalistic wallpapers, wallpapers-illustrations and themes for Apple, Microsoft, Twitter and Google-fans.” But wait there’s more: here is another list from SmashingMagazine. Also, here’s an alphabetized list from Wallpaper Review to even more sites and many other artists whose works, with permission, make great desktop wallpaper!
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Some really nice ones at Fantasy Art Designs.
This place has some cool ones as well –
http://interfacelift.com/
And don’t forget the great imagery at Desktopography: http://pixel.customize.org/
i think customize.org should be included: http://customize.org/browse/wallpapers/popular
nice list, otherwise.
Anyone else see the Dual Screen Wallpapers side bar?
Nice list, thanks!
Don’t forget http://windowsdreams.blogspot.com/
what abouts mandolux.com?
Great choices!
Excellent post!
http://www.boysoncandy.com/ very good Wallpapers + Some dual screens wallpapers
http://www.digitalblasphemy.com has some good ones also, but they are not all free.
I can’t believe that you forgot about Mandolux! He has some of the best wallpapers, all free and of his own design. Plus he almost always does them for a multi-monitor setup. Sometimes it’s for a 2-monitor setup, other times it’s 3 or 4!
Great list!
>>Matt, for Dual Monitor wallpapers sites see http://www.wallpaperreview.com/dualmonitor.html
…in general there are tons of great wallpaper links on Wallpaper Review!
This is my favorite site: http://www.farmidable.com
They have great patterns and every one of them is a tile so it doesn’t matter what monitor size you have.
Another big wallpapers resource 24,000 + is http://www.desktopspies.com
I keep a pile on my site if anyone is interested — mostly high resolution HDR shots form Vancouver, Canada.
http://duanestorey.com/desktop-backgrounds/
http://www.opacity.us specialises in photos of abandoned places, a lot of hospitals and asylums etc. Some of the photos make excellent wallpapers.
Impressive selection!
“If you have to stare at something for 8 or more hours a day, why not make it something interesting?”
Er. Instead of staring at your desktop, maybe you try doing stuff on your computer ? If you don’t have anything to do try turning it off and going outside.
Nice links to great wallpapers, but I seriously doubt anyone would stare at their desktop for eight hours a day…more like five minutes over a span of eight hours!
Cool stuff. As mentioned by Gamble in his comment, I like digital blasphemy
I hope nobody stares on the desktop for 8 hours
Thanks for the cool links.
For anyone after Firefox themed wallpapers, here’s a source that claims to have the biggest collection on the net.
http://mostlysavingmoney.com/cool-firefox-wallpapers/
We’ve got some wallpapers posts att WFTS, like 100 gorgeous designer wallpapers:
http://www.wefindthestuff.com/post.asp?postId=122&category=lifestyle&subCategory=art%20and%20culture
and 30 mac / apple wallpapers:
http://www.wefindthestuff.com/post.asp?postId=120&category=technology&subCategory=operating%20systems
nice collection – some great sites there
These are great. Some good links in the comments too. My friend and I make wallpaper patterns. Here’s the site: http://www.farmidable.com
Here’s the wallpaper gallery: http://www.farmidable.com/desktop-wallpapers
Please check it out.
Great post!!
goood ,Thank you for the summary we are going some oto kiralama for some one its really good…
It is really great. I also used same technic in my web site and it works.
goood ,Thank you for the summary we are going some oto kiralama for some one its really good…
GOOD SITES, VISIT: http://WWW.JEVALL.YA.ST
Great compilation of resources Thanks!
Can’t believe no-one has mentioned http://www.3Ddesktops.co.uk !! One of the best wallpaper sites there is with original hi-res wallpaper designs, db is also very good…. just my 2 cents…
Nice links to great wallpapers, but I seriously doubt anyone would stare at their desktop for eight hours a day…more like five minutes over a span of eight hours!
You have some great stuff on your blog. Your insight and expertise would be a welcome addition to our new community, i hope you will consider joining
and thanks for sharing!
Nice links to great wallpapers, I always want to have great wallpaper collection on my computer.
It is really great. I also used same technic in my web site and it works.
this is very nice blog,thank you for all
Nice list. But I know this site http://www.ezwebrus.com for a year or so. They offer high def images for desktop backgrounds too. There’s thousands of wallpapers and easy access. Best of all… no pop ups, no annoying ads or viruses.
I think it should be part of this list too.
tool with a simple GUI than hiring a designer but can still use the first section below and these great wallpapers to get design
I can’t believe that you forgot about Mandolux! He has some of the best wallpapers, all free and of his own design. Plus he almost always does them for a multi-monitor setup. Sometimes it’s for a 2-monitor setup, other times it’s 3 or 4!
thank you everybody .This very important blog
Anyone else see the Dual Screen Wallpapers side bar?
Thanks a lot for the wonderful information
man this site’s design alone got me blown away… cool wallpapers too!