WordPress themes pop up every day, but many of them look alike. Unique themes are hard to find. I've found several that I really like, so I thought I'd discuss them from time to time. I also hope to discuss other things WordPress, such as plug-ins, a few basic "how-tos," etc. I may even get crazy and post a few times about Joomla! (See my LindaFulkerson.com site for an example of a Joomla!-powered site.)
Okay, I confess, I've been hanging out on some geek blogs, learning about cascading style sheets and .php and stuff. There. I said it. No way do I claim to know what I'm doing in geek land. I'm a lurker. I have modified code a few times. Okay, several times. Even successfully. I know just enough to get into trouble, as the old saying goes.
I really like the Spin Me theme from Geek Goddess Design. It is a clean design, yet unique and professional. It also looks fun to me. If you're new to WordPress, you'll quickly discover that most of the themes are categorized by their width style (fixed or fluid) and the number of columns. Spin Me is a fixed width, two column design. I'm currently using Spin Me at my HiredQuill Critique Service site if you wish to view it in action.
(If you wish to see an example of a fluid width theme, visit my Fiction Fundamentals site. I use Milo's New Yorker Theme on that site. Note: Milo's web site scares me a little, but his designs are unique and interesting, and he seems to be a pretty decent fellow. Had to e-mail him once about a theme issue and he answered quickly and in a friendly manner.)
Different WordPress users look for different things in a theme. Personally, I prefer light themes to dark. I also (since I'm not an XHTML wizard) like the convenience of widgetized themes. Widgets allow tech-challenged bloggers to produce sites with cool sidebar goodies.
The best part about WordPress and Joomla! is that they are both FREE, because they are Open Source. What that means is that a bunch of kids (usually college students who are bored with Calculus III) develop themes, templates, plug-ins, etc., and upload them for all of us to enjoy. Some are professionals who release free themes for PR purposes, other themes are sponsored. (Note: watch the links in the footer. Some theme sponsors are scary--gambling sites, etc. I don't use themes from sponsors if I'd be embarrassed for my readers to view their sites.)
If you have any questions about WordPress, Joomla!, or themes, I'm certainly no expert, but I've found a lot of sites whose owners are and can possibly point you in the right direction.