I could spend all day perusing collections of WordPress themes. They’ve come a long way since I started blogging back. And these days many of the free WordPress themes even rival the premium options. Every year WordPress designers get even more impressive, and is no exception. So today let’s take a look at ten recent and awesome WordPress themes you might not have come across yet (or if you’re a WordPress junkie like I am, maybe you have).

Here are ten of my favorite themes recently released, in no particular order. I tried to choose a combination of “themed” themes for specific types of sites as well as some more general WordPress themes you could adapt to just about any kind of site or blog run on the WordPress platform.

Note: While I tried to stick to themes released, it’s possible a fewers  managed to sneak in where release dates weren’t obvious.

1. Webfolio

I’ve seen Webfolio featured on several sites, so you might have stumbled across this one too. But for those who haven’t been on a recent theme hunt, I think it’s one they should see. Gorgeous, no?

Price: FREE  | Info and Download

2. Glory

Glory is the only WordPress theme on this list I’ve actually had the pleasure to use yet (I usually design my own or have them custom-made). I loved the earthy feel of this one so much that I used it to set up my sister’s first blog — a blog on college vegetarian cooking — at DormVeg.com. The only minor complaint I had about using it was that the logo is very difficult to change since there was no logo PSD (unless I missed it somehow) and the logo itself is on a background pattern. Very frustrating, but it was manageable as you can see on the edited site.

Glory WordPress Theme from HostWisely

Price: FREE  |  Info and Download

3. Corporate Life

Corporate Life is a gorgeous professional WordPress theme that’s ideal for a business site or a portfolio site promoting services. Everything you’d want on a basic business site is accounted for right on the homepage, saving you from having to adapt a more traditional blog format.

Corporate Life Theme from GetACustomDesign.com

Price: FREE  |  Info and Download

4. Choco

While Choco could easily be adapted to just about any niche, it’s one I stumbled across while looking for decent food blog themes. And there really aren’t many great food blog themes for WordPress out there yet. If you’re looking for one, this might be one to consider.

Choco WordPress Theme from NewWPThemes.com

Price: FREE  |  Info and Download

5. Brave Zeenat Pro

Dark themes and templates really don’t appeal to me visually, but this one stood out. It struck me as a nice theme option for a photography blog or maybe something in high fashion.

Brave Zeenat WordPress Theme from DizenoCo.com

Price: $37 (they also offer a free version)  |  Info and Purchase

6. Classic Theme

I’m a big fan of minimalist Web design, especially when it comes to creative professionals’ portfolio sites. And the Classic Theme is a lovely black and white minimalist WordPress theme that really called out to me on that front. This is another one I think could work well for a photographer’s site, or any kind of site or blog where you can’t afford to have the sidebar content detract or distract from the main content.

Classic Theme on ThemeForest.net

Price: $27  |  Info and Purchase

7. Portfolius v.11

Speaking of WordPress themes that would make for great portfolio sites, this one also stood out. While the overall design is pretty simple, and while the header doesn’t really appeal to me, it was the layout and typographical choices that really made it “pop” next to the competition. I could see this being used for a copywriter’s blog, a sales letter / product site, or something else relying on text-heavy content.

Portfolius v11 WordPress Theme from PremiumWP.com

Price: $19.95-29.95  |  Info and Purchase

8. iGifts

I love this one for its simplicity. It’s a pretty basic theme, and there are lots like it. This one jumped out because of the decidedly female focus. I’ve had a tough time finding good female-oriented themes in the past (many are too image-intensive and therefore more difficult to customize). So I could see this used for anything from a mommy blog to a shopping or beauty blog. It’s also professional enough that you could easily adapt this to a magazine-style setup. Love it. And if pink’s not your thing, changing it up for another niche should be relatively simple with this theme.

iGifts WordPress Theme from NewWPThemes.com

Price: FREE  |  Info and Download

Answers

This is another WordPress theme some of you might have seen around already, but one I think deserves some attention for those who haven’t come across it yet. This theme is designed for use with a very specific type of site, other than a blog. Its purpose is to let you set up your very own Q&A site (like Yahoo! Answers).

Answers WordPress Theme from Templatic.com

Price: $49 - 99  |  Info and Purchase

10. Fresh Life

This theme jumped out at me because it’s just so versatile right out of the box. The color scheme is perfect for not only business sites and blogs, but news sites as well. Plus, I love a nice bright design any day, and the double-bar navigation really appealed to me. Take a gander.

Fresh Life Theme from Theme Junkie

Price: $29.95  |  Info and Purchase

By no means are these the only great WordPress themes out there, even just from the most recent releases. But they’re the ones that caught my eye amongst the crowd, and I think they’re all worth sharing. Remember to keep on looking — new WordPress themes are released pretty much every day!

Do you have a favorite new WordPress theme put out?? Leave a link in the comments to tell us about it.