iStockPhoto isn’t exactly cheap, but they do offer some of the highest quality images on the web. They offer a variety of photos and illustrations, at various resolutions. The cheapest images start around a couple of bucks, but a good print-quality image could set you back more than $20. The licensing is fairly restrictive, but this is what you’d expect from a top-tier commercial photo merchant. All content is provided by iStock’s many users, but the company has a pretty strict guideline to ensure that only the best images are listed for sale.

Check out iStockPhoto to see what we’re talking about

Rating: 4 out of 5

iStock’s sister-site Stock xchng offers many free royalty free images of a lesser quality generally best for web use, not as much print. Just watch out, as they also feature photos from iStockPhoto at the top and bottom of most pages – which can be a blessing and a curse.

It’s also worth noting that iStockPhoto offers a free weekly download in each of their top categories (photo, illustration, audio, video and Flash).