The 15 Best Light Bulbs to Illuminate Your Home

What to Look for in a Light Bulb

Consider the Room

When selecting light bulbs, it’s important to think about where the bulbs will be used.

Choose a warm or cool light bulb based on your room's purpose and desired ambiance, according to Keely Smith, lead interior designer at JD Elite Interiors. “Warmer tones suit some better, while others prefer the brighter look of cooler light,” she says. “For tasks, a cooler light may help more than very warm light.”

The most important things to think about are the size of the space and the activities usually done there, says Smith.

Kitchens and workspaces call for bright white light that's suitable for cooking and other tasks. For example, our best for kitchens pick, the Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt Equivalent Dimmable Natural White, adds bright natural light that makes it easy to see what you're doing.

In contrast, warmer light can create a cozy and inviting atmosphere in your living room. Our best for bedrooms pick, the Ascher Dimmable Vintage Edison Bulbs, creates a relaxing ambiance that isn't overly harsh.

You can use one kind of bulb throughout your home, but selecting the ideal brightness and color temperature for each room can result in more comfortable and livable spaces.

Choose the Type of Bulb

There are four different types of light bulbs that will all work in the fixtures and lamps around your home, but most of them have been phased out due to energy efficiency regulations. All of our recommendations use LED technology, but there are circumstances where you might want to seek out another type.

• Light-Emitting Diode (LED): LED light bulbs are significantly more efficient than any other type of light bulb, and they don’t contain harmful chemicals like mercury. They’re available in dimmable and non-dimmable versions, and they can be designed to emit light in any color temperature.
• Incandescent: For many years, this was the only option for light bulbs in residential applications; however, they are now hard to find. These bulbs are very energy inefficient, as they work by heating a filament, which then emits light. Since these bulbs produce a lot of heat, they are useful as heat lamps in applications that require both heat and light like reptile terrariums.
• Halogen: These are technically a type of incandescent bulb, but they are filled with halogen gas. That helps them produce more light and last longer than traditional incandescent bulbs. Halogen bulbs produce the closest thing to natural light, white light, or daylight. They aren’t very energy efficient though, and they have been phased out in the United States, so they’re difficult to find.
• Compact Fluorescent (CFL): These bulbs pass electrical current through a mixture of gasses that typically include mercury vapor. They’re significantly more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, and they also last much longer. They aren’t as efficient as LEDs though, and disposal is complicated by the inclusion of mercury.

Select the Best Bulb Size and Shape

Light bulbs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and they’re differentiated by shape codes that consist of a letter and a number. The letter indicates the basic shape of the bulb, and the number indicates the size. In addition to the shape code, every light bulb has a base type that indicates what kind of fixtures and lamps it will screw or plug into. 

“The shape of a light bulb isn't just about how it looks—it also affects how the light spreads out and which fixtures it will fit in," says Smith. Almost all of our recommendations are all A19 bulbs with E26 bases because that’s the size, shape, and base type that works in most residential light fixtures and lamps.

However, our best for bedrooms pick, the Ascher Dimmable Vintage Edison Bulbs, has a unique ST19 shape that's more stylish than your average bulb, but may not be compatible with all fixtures.

If you have different types of fixtures, like recessed lighting, then you will need a different type of bulb. You can still follow our basic recommendations, but look for a variation that matches the size, shape, and base type required by your fixtures.

For example, we recommend the Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt Warm White as the best option for living rooms, but the A19 style doesn’t work with recessed or track lighting. If you need bulbs for recessed lighting, you would instead want the Sunco Lighting BR30 LED Flood Bulb.

Think About Brightness and Color Temperature

The brightness of a light bulb indicates how much light it puts out, and temperature refers to the color of the light. Brightness is measured in lumens, and higher numbers indicate brighter bulbs. Temperature is measured in Kelvins, with lower numbers appearing yellow or orange, and higher numbers appearing white or blue. Orange-hued light is referred to as warm, while white and blue light are referred to as cool.

“Kelvin values around 2700k to 3000K produce warm, yellowish light suitable for a cozy atmosphere, while higher Kelvin values (around 5000 to 6500K) give off cooler, bluish light that can mimic daylight,” says Mike Rivers, operational director at Fusion Office Design. “So, for different situations, you can opt for a specific range of color temperatures accordingly.”

• Bedrooms: To create a relaxing atmosphere, aim for 600 to 2,000 lumens in a color temperature of 2700 to 3000K.
• Living rooms: Since living rooms are used for a variety of purposes, look for fairly bright, warm light, so 1,500 to 3,000 lumens with a color temperature of 2700 to 3000K works well. Our favorite is the Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt.
• Kitchens: Kitchens need to be bright, so 1,600 to 4,000 lumens with a color temperature of 3000 to 4000K is ideal. We like the Luxrite A19 LED Light Bulbs 100 Watt Equivalent Dimmable Natural White.
• Dining rooms: It’s important for a dining room to be both bright and inviting at mealtime, so 1,000 to 4,000 lumens with a color temperature of 2700 to 3000K works well. We recommend the Sylvania LED TruWave Natural Series A19 Light Bulb 75W Equivalent .
• Bathrooms: Bathrooms should be bright, with about 2,000 to 4,000 lumens and a cooler color temperature of 2500 to 4000K.

Opt for Dimming

Incandescent, CFL, and LED bulbs all have dimming options, but it’s a complicated issue. You can use any incandescent bulb with a dimmer switch, but only some CFLs and LEDs are designed for dimming. To avoid headaches, Smith has this advice: “Make double sure it says dimmable right on the package before buying. Not all kinds work well with dimmers.”

We recommend a number of dimmable LED light bulbs, like the Feit Electric Enhance. You can’t just replace an incandescent bulb with a Feit Electric Enhance and expect it to dim, because dimmer switches that are designed for incandescent bulbs won’t work with CFLs or LEDs.

Using a dimmable CFL or LED light bulb with an incompatible switch can cause flickering, unpleasant noises, and shorten the life of the bulb. Some dimmer switches are specifically designed for CFL or LED light bulbs, and others include a toggle to switch between bulb types or a trim dial to eliminate flickering.

Why Trust The Spruce?

Jeremy Laukkonen is an updates writer for The Spruce. He has more than a decade of experience writing about appliances, electronics, and other home goods (including best smart light bulbs). When compiling this list of the best light bulbs, he reviewed dozens of top-rated options and evaluated them on helpful features as well as their color temperature and brightness, energy efficiency, style, and longevity,

Our Experts: 

• Keely Smith, lead interior designer at JD Elite
• Mike Rivers, operational director at Fusion Office Design
• Jenica Currie, editor at The Spruce