There are many reasons why I don’t find the iOS App Store terribly great for the task of browsing for new applications — for example, the lack of any kind of wish list functionality. But I think the main reason is that the way the store presents popularity is based on a handful of simple metrics: number of downloads, total gross, user ratings, et cetera.

Those numbers are representative of a certain kind of status, certainly, but they aren’t terrible useful to me personally. In theory, user ratings and reviews would be more suitable, but the majority of iOS consumers aren’t very capable software reviewers and the bulk of the reviews you will find about a given app on the store are usually spitefully negative, or so brief that they aren’t helpful.

In fact, I’ve found that the most rewarding way to discover new, cool applications is to essentially delegate that work to other people, via sites like First and 20 and the newer, sleeker Homescreen.

These sites are home screen galleries. In First and 20′s case, the gallery consists of the iPhones of various hand-picked web, tech and design cognoscenti. Homescreen, by contrast, is community-driven — although accounts are currently invite-only while the site’s in beta, unregistered users can still explore the site’s content.

What’s really cool about these sites is that each home screen image is accompanied by a description of the applications on the user’s home screen and (most importantly) why those particular apps were chosen. While these descriptions tend to be richer and more in-depth on First and 20, the site hasn’t been updated in some time and the sheer volume of screens available for perusal on Homescreen more than makes up for any lack of editorial content from its users.

Seeing the programs that others are using often enough to get the most prestigious spots in iOS real-estate, being able to read about why an application got the home screen treatment and how somebody uses it — it’s almost voyeuristic, but I think it’s a far more effective and personal way to discover new apps.