So, you’ve decided to use Flash for at least part of your site. Now you need a cool gallery to make your pictures stand out, here are a few we recommend. Each gallery has been selected because of its ease, design, customization level and load time. Take a look and give them a try.

Here are 11 great Flash galleries you can’t design without:

1) SlideShowPro

The leader of the pack, SlideShowPro is a feature packed Flash gallery that you can use in your fully Flash site or as an embeddable gallery on your site. They also have an optional full powered PHP backend for easy control and editing. SlideShowPro comes in two flavors: Flash and Lightroom. The Lightroom version makes creating stunning galleries with reflections easy, especially for people with little to no Flash experience.

They also recently introduced ThumbGrid, a new thumbnail designer pared with the Flash version of SlideShowPro. ThumbGrid is a powerful thumbnail layout tool for making your gallery’s look unique with custom layouts.

2) SimpleViewer

Used on many websites, SimpleViewer is a quick and simple Flash gallery that has many customization options. SimpleViewer galleries can be created in Flash, Lightroom or by modifying XML files. Like SlideShowPro, SimpleViewer also has a PHP backend system that can be purchased separately.

SimpleViewer Pro allows even more options and removes the Simple Viewer link.

3) dfGallery 2.o

Released earlier this year, dfGallery 2.0 builds on dfGallery’s 200,000+ downloads to give photographers even more control of their galleries. Unlike Simple Viewer and SlideShowPro, dfGallery 2.o comes with a FREE built-in admin panel for easy editing and updating. The system can support Flickr integration, multiple galleries, update notifications, custom skins and much more.

dfGallery also allows simple embedding on any website, now you can show off your work easily!

4) Advanced XML Gallery v23

Located on the FlashDen store, part of the envato network, Advanced XML Gallery v23 is a xml driven Flash gallery with very few limits. The gallery can have multiple albums with unlimited photos per album. Users just edit a simple XML file (in Notepad or Dreamweaver) to add more pictures to the gallery.

One setback, Advanced XML Gallery v23 doesn’t work well with portrait layout pictures.

5) Monoslideshow

Sporting the Ken Burns effect, Monoslideshow pans and tilts its way into many sites. Billed as “the ultra customizable Flash image viewer,” there are over 500 options you can tweak to create a great photo gallery. Monoslideshow also features 10 professional transitions, one feature lacking in some of the other Flash galleries listed here.

Monoslideshow can handle both video and photos with ease.

6) Flash Gallery

Flash Gallery is a free gallery that uses XML files to allow simple edting of galleries. One feature that sets Flast Gallery apart is the file size, its only 11kb. This means a fast load experience for your users.

7) Polaroid Gallery

Definitely not for everyone, Polaroid Gallery will give your pictures a unique background. Polaroid Gallery can also be integrated with your Flickr steam to have a constantly fresh selection of photos.

8 ) Resizeable Media Gallery

Build with an admin backend and many features, Resizeable Media Gallery can display video and images. The gallery supports unlimited albums with unlimited items in each. With the addition of the easy to use backend, this gallery becomes a great choice for a large portfolio of work.

9) Slice Image Gallery

Offering a unique layout, Slice Image Gallery is a interesting choice for a gallery. Slice Image Gallery supports unlimited albums with unlimited photos and detailed documentation. The gallery also supports audio tracks for each image and URL links for each image, great for blogging a specific image.

10) Portfolio Showcase

Simple and elegant, Portfolio Showcase is the perfect gallery for sites that want little clutter and lots of white space. The gallery makes the images the priority, not effects and design.

This gallery, like others listed above, is easily configurable with XML and fully skinnable, which allows it to match your existing site. Portfolio Showcase can also play videos with a built in player.

11) AS2 XML Multi-Categories Minimal Photo Gallery

Another elegant gallery choice, AS2 XML Multi-Categories Minimal Photo Gallery features a simple drag and drop approach in Flash 8 or higher. The gallery allows for unlimited albums with unlimited photos. The script comes with a rich help file to walk you through setup and use of this simple choice.

12) TiltViewer

Created by the same team that created SimpleViewer, TiltViewer has a unique layout with photos floating in 3D.  Easily manipulate the photos in 3D and click to enlarge. Driven by an XML file, TiltViewer is also simple to edit, like SimpleViewer. TiltViewer can also be integrated in Lightroom for even simpler gallery creation.

These 12 choices represent the best free and premium Flash galleries currently available. There are many more “unique styled” galleries online, but we focused on galleries that are practical and can easily and quickly be implemented for maximum results. Have any other recommendations? If so, leave a comment…