Lighting experts, I need your help. We are doing some updates to our house and my husband and I are clueless about lights.

1. We have a long hallway that currently has 2 globe lights in it that look like they are from 70's. I planned on replacing them with modern flush/semi-flush lights. We have recently painted darker color and now realize how bright the area is by light fixture, while rest of hall is dark creating unpleasant shadows. I am guessing replacing the fixtures as intended will not fix this. Never noticed before with off-white paint. My husband's solution is to install six 3" can lights down hall to have "continuous" light with no shadows. Not sure if will fix problem?

2. We bought 6" can lights for kitchen and bought the corresponding number for the bulbs as instructed. After getting home, we realized they are halogen bulbs and family is telling us not to use those because they get too hot?

What do can lights normally use incandescent, fluorescent?

I'll be honest, in both areas I just concerned about "pleasant" lighting. I know I tend to like incandescent bulbs better but I know that they are not as energy efficient as fluorescent or LEDs. I tend to think that fluorescents are harsh lighting and LED's are too cool/blue looking. I'm sure there are a lot of options out there that I am unaware of, but we are on a budget so Lowe's and Home Depot are pretty much our options. Sorry so long, I am just so confused.