I was reading Seth Godin's blog, he says there's no good home pages anymore. While I can't think of many websites where I actually "use" the front page, I am not sure that this is true. Home pages need to do a job of orientating and explaining. Maybe you only have to use a website home page once, but it's better to make sure that even if this is true, the experience is good.

Here's a few I found that are pretty interesting....

Mint is the money management website offering free finance software. The reason I like this one is it uses a huge graphic to show you inside the site and balances this with three simple links in to the site. Big, bold and clear.

 LendingClub is the social lending/borrowing website which I think appeared last year. What I like about this site is the stylish quarter page graphic at the top which acts as a big ad for the site. Below this are three clearly delineated sections that send you on your way in to the site. Again, big, bold and simple.

 Zopa is another social lending website, the single thing I like about this is that you can interact with the front page. You put in the amount you want to borrow, and the term, and in one click you are in to the heart of the website.

TED, the technology, entertainment and design conference website. Just marvel at the use of the images that turn in to navigation. The use of photos on its own is clever and gives a way of weighting the importance of the content that lies beneath. 

Wired is probably the most stylish and idiosyncratic in my view (but that's not necessarily to say it is!) I think there's lots of potential for this one to be a mess, but I don't think it is. Instead the large, distinct text font (which is also minimal) and the clever use of photography make this one actually very easy to use. 

 BlenderBox is in there because it does a couple of things very well. On the one hand it introduces you to what the site is about very clearly (and finds space to add latest news.) On the other, it adds a series of links to the right-hand side of the page which are clear and inviting.