Here's an update with some possible labeling style options. I'm still agonizing over actual names of places, so it may be a while before those get implemented for real. I've gone with 22-pt Univers for city and small feature names and 50-pt Univers for large features (iirc; it might be 35). Larger features have the spacing of the letters stretched to fill the line/area - although river names will not be stretched.

Text treatment is the same everywhere - it all gets a glow. The text color and glow color depend on the background:

Dark Backgrounds
Text Color is the cream color I'm using for "white".
Text Blending Mode is Normal.
Text Opacity is 40%.
Glow Color is the dark blue I'm using for "black".
Glow Blending Mode is Overlay.
Glow Opacity is 25%.

Light Backgrounds
Text Color is the dark blue I'm using for "black".
Text Blending Mode is Normal.
Text Opacity is 75%.
Glow Color is the cream color I'm using for "white".
Glow Blending Mode is Hard Light.
Glow Opacity is 25%.

I have made two versions of the map to toy with two looks. The first is the normal output as I've been making it:

Click image for larger version.  Name: 6 - Map - Labels v1.jpg  Views: 42  Size: 2.31 MB  ID: 79147

The second version has its saturation lowered by -35:

Click image for larger version.  Name: 6 - Map - Labels v1a.jpg  Views: 60  Size: 2.02 MB  ID: 79148

I'd really appreciate any comments on
(a) the label font
(b) the label colors - do they pop enough to be easily legible?
(c) do the labels feel seated in the map or like they're floating above it?
(d) should I use the red from the city icons for the labels on light backgrounds instead of the dark blue?
(e) do you prefer the desaturated map or the normal one?
(f) do you have any other comments or criticisms?