Not so sure about the inexpensive part, but NERO is a great tool and well worth the money, you can use it to create cd's and Dvd's, photo dvd's and cds, your own movie dvd's from video you have taken, just about everything.
Are you talking about album design software or slideshow software? I believe proshow gold has some pretty cheap versions for slideshows (which is what it sounds like you're looking for). For albums, I design in photoshop and order from a couple of different companies, most of which require you to be a pro photographer to get an account. MPIX is a consumer level company that has some inexpensive fairly nice coffee table books.