NEVER judge a book by it's cover?

I have been merrily plunking down hard earned cash (my own and other peoples!) for books judged solely by their covers ever since I could afford to buy a books. To me the art work and design work are way more of a factor than the title or author name. But ya know I'm also kinda torn between writing stories and being an illustrator, so maybe I'm not normal in this.
I find that artists and illustrators inspire me as a writer just as much as other writers inspire me. I also find that reading a really great book makes me reach for the art supplies. At the moment I am writing a scene set in a shanty town in the sand dunes, and in my head I see this painting from some time in the 18th or 19th century by an artist whose name I forgot about 5 minutes after I read it. I can see the picture, stormy sky, wind whipped sand dunes, crashing ocean waves....I can smell the salt and sea weed. It's probably just as well I cant find the image online though, memory is a great enhancer of third rate paintings!
So my point is that I find visual arts super inspiring, and a really great cover on a book will part me from my money way faster than for example a banner saying New York Times Best Seller (what does that even mean?) or New-berry Award Winner or even JK Rowlings. (whose covers I don't like at all... don't shoot me!) And though I do love all these covers, I haven't read them all so if you have read them let me know what you thought of them!