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For custom art, I think you've already had some great advice. For stock photos, read the fine print.
I used a stock image for my cover, but I'd strongly recommend knowing exactly what rights and licensing exist on the site and image you choose. For example, I used an illustration from istockphoto.com - I can use it on up to 500,000 books for the basic license, then I would need to upgrade (oh, to have such a problem!!). If I'd used an image with a person, they require a standardized model release, which would protect me down the road.
SXC, mentioned above, is a free site, but they don't require that you have a model release for posted images (which means if any part of a person is visible in the image, and that person objects to your use of their image some day, it could get very sticky). Use rights are also hard to figure out from that site sometimes (because they are determined by the individual poster).
You don't want to be the person that put the picture of someone's kid on the front of your thriller, only to discover that someone objects.
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