For free - I like woothemes. For paid I like WPZoom themes (but they are not cheap)

Hope this helps. https://my.wealthyaffiliate.com/everything-wordpress/which-is-the-best-wordpress-theme-to-use

You can not please everyone. I personally prefer to read clean pages without much color which deflects the true purpose. So your pictures stand out more. Have a super clear widgets and menu.

I'm using Iconic One Pro

This is probably the most personal of the decisions you have to make after niche. Personally I like the ThemeZee. It is free.

Hey Max, great question. I'm a big fan of the various StudioPress premium WordPress themes that can be viewed here at this non-affilate link: http://my.studiopress.com/themes/.

I use their themes for both of my web sites and I really like the simple and clean design options they offer. Check them out. Not everyone wants to invest $$ in a theme and that's fine, but I feel the small investment in a premium theme definitely increases and enhances your visitor experience. Good luck with whatever you decide!

I chose Active. I've also got Cirrus, Twenty Twelve and Twenty Thirteen in my galley for subsequent websites. Hope that helps.

As Kyle always says "Keep it simple, look at Craig's List crummy site" and the success they are having. Anyways, I tried about a dozen or so and I like Platform the best. It has an additional item within the "appearance" menu which allows you to really customize the looks of the site. you can drag and drop the size of content area or side bars, for example. Check it out. I do things like that by creating a dummy rubix site which I easily can delete later on.
John

Iconic One Pro.....

I will be looking forward to reading your responses. I ended up purchasing a WP theme.