LED lights are fine for a kitchen. As you already know though, they can be pretty pricey. I also would take the manufactures claims of "equivalent to a 60W bulb" with a grain of salt. The ones I've seen never seem as bright as they claim to be. That is probably a bigger concern for task lighting than decorative pendant lights.

I think we will need both functions for these pendants since they will be lighting up the island work area. I've only seen LED flashlights but I assume LED lights also come in different wattages or whatever measurement is equivalent.

Yes they do. There are various choices from different vendors.
Try http://www.polar-ray.com

There are certainly a ton of options. What I was trying to say is that many manufactures of high efficiency lighting seem to be using the word "equivalent" in a pretty loose manner. When you look at them side by side, you see that a real 60w bulb is much brighter than an "equivalent" led or CFL. It doesn't make them bad products, but you should keep that in mind if the lights need to be functional.

When CFs first appeared on the market, the manufacturers made claims of equivalency that were completely bogus. It gave CFs a bad name. These days CFs are much improved and, except for the really crummy dollar-store CFs, the claims of light output equivalence from the major manufacturers are generally pretty credible.

However, the LED makers seem to be repeating the CF makers' mistake. I suspect this is partly because if they told the truth they'd have to admit that those LED lights they claim are equivalent to 60 watt incandescent are actually closer in light output to a 40 watt or even 25 watt incandescent.

They'd also have to admit that LEDs' efficiency advantage isn't as great as they suggest. The best LED household lighting devices are about as efficient as the worst compact fluorescent lights. Some cheap LED lights barely beat the most efficient incandescents.

In any case, when it comes to lights that normal mortals can actually buy and install, CF is still the efficiency champion. And it certainly costs a lot less.

But if you have your heart set on pendant lights CF obviously isn't going to do it for you. Good quality LEDs will offer some modest efficiency gains over incandescent and, probably more importantly, much longer life.

Just be aware that some (all?) white LEDs decline in light output over time, as do CFs. This is because the phosphors they use degenerate. Make sure you start with units which produce more lumens than you really need.

Also be certain you get a written warranty.
My personal experience with LED lighting
is ~40% fail in the first year of use. It doesn't
seem to matter who manufactures them so
replacements will likely be needed. The LED
frequently still lights but the supporting
electronics die leading to intermittent operation.

of course they do, use it as a conventional light bulb

Here is a link that might be useful: cheap led lights

Ignore the equiv. watts rating. These are always LIES.
The things that matter are the actual watts consumed and the LUMENS put out.
A proper unit will list both.

If you can tolerate the low lighting they make light more efficiently. just not as much per fixture compared to most incandescent lights (or fluorescent).

In fact, they can make lots of light. We've got LED equivelents for PAR36 aircraft landing lights that are too bright to even look at directly.

Well I certainly hope they're ok in the kitchen... We're putting in 21 (?) Cree LR6s recessed cans and plan on lots of InvisiLED under cabinet lighting (both the Pro and the kind that changes colors, I forget the name). I LOVE the idea of how efficient the LED lights are.

Lighting is such a huge factor in energy consumption. It is so great to see the post where people choose the LED lighting for the energy savings. They also last longer so it means less waste for the landfill.

It's real amazing that the whole discussion took place nearly five years ago before you decided to waste the electrons dredging it up.