Pictures please:)

We have not yet started the cabinet refinishing, so this is the existing golden oak (ugh).

I'd go with a light color pulled from the granite, i.e. cream or beige. See link below for kitchens.

Unless you want to go with a stailess steel tile. Costoco has them currently on sale.

Here is a link that might be useful: espresso cabinets and Giallo granite

The common opinion here is that you already have a short backsplash and adding tile looks like an afterthought. If you remove the short splash, a cream color tile would be your best and least expensive option. So that should be easy to find.

Mayflowers - so take off that vertical piece of granite? Then tile down to the countertop? I wonder if that's hard to remove or if it would damage the sheet rock? Would it just look wrong or dated to leave it and just tile above it?

Agree on light color tile. Looking at crema marfil - seems readily avail and in budget.

Well, yes, it will look dated. Leaving it untiled is fine. You'll need to post the question about removal. I'm sure it will cause some damage, but it was easy to repair when we removed tile behind our vanity.

I'm in the anti-backsplash camp - if there is such a thing! Your counter already has a matching short b/s; why bother with something else above it. It's lovely the way it is. Are you really going to be splashing spaghetti sauce, chocolate, cake batter or beaten eggs against your wall?

Honestly, this may not go over well, but it seems to me backsplashes have achieved an importance of outsized proportion. And, btw, I have not once seen a thread here where there was ANY consensus about what someone should use.

We just got inexpensive subway tile for our bathroom from lowes and like it very much. We got the American Olean matte tile and it worked out to be just under $5 a sq ft. I know it comes in a few colors. They have a starting line too that I believe is even less expensive.

We got maxed out on our kitchen budget from other expenses, so we are foregoing the tile backsplash in favor of sheet MDF beadboard. Still a lot of visual interest and you can paint it any color with a paint that is washable. Very cost effective and another option you could look into if you are trying to keep costs down.