I tested ~10 different bulbs for my kitchen lighting about 5 years ago. I don't know how much the situation has changed since then, but at that time I had a few

I tested ~10 different bulbs for my kitchen lighting about 5 years ago. I don't know how much the situation has changed since then, but at that time I had a few key requirements - high output (150W equivalent), warmish (but not super-warm for the kitchen) color temperature, fast turn-on speed, and dimmable. Much to my surprise, the (almost) cheapest bulbs (some Utilitech model that doesn't seem to exist anymore) ended up being the winners. Instant on (no perceptible delay, compared to all others I tried), great color temp, no flickering, wide range of dimmability. I tried many different brands, from Phillips at 3* the price. It's just a single anecdote, but I cared a lot about the performance of the bulbs, and I was surprised to find the cheap ones actually worked best. I think there's a lot of variability out there and you can't rely on cost and you definitely can't rely on brand name (Philips was the worst). Lately, I've found Ikea's LED bulbs are good and quite cheap (with imperceptible delay on turning on).