For 3 years i have gathered information on CFLs and here is the review to end most all other reviews!!  

General Electric
Pros: Good quality, long life, non offensive EOL, makes the FLB17- one of the best magnetic CFL's ever made!
Cons: Newer ones aren't as good, some have amalgrams that take 3 min to warm up, some older models have poor quality electrodes and fail quickly.

TCP/Commercial electric (N:Vision)
Pros: Many color variates, many different kinds to fit different fixtures, Consumer Reports rated them the highest, along with Popular Mechanics, lifetime is very long
Cons: 13 watt soft white can be too yellow and unpleasing and annoying (works OK with non yellow lamp shades or other fixtures though), insulation problems where tube enters base with older EDXO models

Sylvania
Pros: Many different kinds, good ballasts; some are programmed start or delayed start
Cons: Few color temp options- 2700K hard to find, expensive, newer ones aren't as good, Jace says they sell 3500K and Sylvania says its daylight but 3500K is bright white or cool white

Feit Electric
Pros: Everyone here on LG likes them, better for environment because of reduced hazardous material content of lamp and ballast, good quality, long life
Cons: Same people make Bright Effects, can have ballast problems, hard to find (Walgreens has them though.)

Bright Effects
Pros: Many different color temperatures
Cons: Cheap, ballasts are poor quality, can fail for no reason, no one likes them, fire hazard

Lights of America (More like lights of china)
Pros: Older ones are very good, new ones are cheap china junk
Cons: Cheap, fail quickly, ballast problems,

Globe Electric/Noma
Pros: Smaller sizes, many party colors( red, green, blue, etc.), makes cool white version.
Cons: Can have ballast problems, some recalled, i've seen pics of lamps that have caught on fire, when switched on - there is a delay (globe doesn't make ones with programmed start like Sylvania)

Philips
Pros: Excellent quality, long lifetime, nice color variates, offers more eco-frendly options, such as Alto.
Cons: Some people don't like Alto, very hard to find in my area.

IKEA/Megaman
Pros: Excellent overall quality, cheap price, many different varites, no bad reports or pictures(yet)cool to collect.
Cons: Hard to find, wattage equivalent European.

Actually 3500 is more of white with a little hint of pink.....but Sylvania called it daylight but had a small label saying it was not a 6500 K daylight...

The 3500k ones used to be sold as Daylight Extra.  I bought a pack of them along with a ceiling fixture a few years ago.  Some places still have them, but at Lowes I've noticed they are sold as something else now.  I just can't remember what.

GE CFL color varies are better now....go to Target they have soft white, cool white and daylight!  Seems when GE lighting became a stand alone company lamp selection and ideas are getting better and GE M-400A2 are back!

Good thing must be...

I will make this topic sticky and keep it on top for people to see....

In the late '90s or early '00s, Feit PLs and compact fluorescents were very poor quality. They would die in 6 months or so. I've stayed away from them since but maybe they've improved now. Lights Of America products were fairly good when they were made in Japan.

CFL early ballast failures are mostly linked to overheated filtering electrolytic capacitor(s). They are smoothening the intermediate DC voltage after the rectifier and providing the voltage to the inverter stage. So these caps get high current load from both sides - 100/120Hz from the rectifier and 30kHz from the inverter, what is near maximum rated ripple current. And if you look into el. capacitor manufacturer's datasheets, you will not find any such power capacitor rated for more then 3000 hours lifetime. OK, there are notices, then you might extend their life expectation by lowering their operating temperature. If i translate this to CFL design, it mean use large ballast box and allow only cap-down burning...

Our 3 way Feit spiral has burnt out yesterday, simply would not work anymore, it did not last long.....about a year or less...can't remember when I bought it....

We have a Lights of America sprial which is actually older and still running fine

But the Feit spiral fits more fixtures better because it is a bit smaller also it has a much better color than the Lights of America which makes light too dull and somewhat yellowish...

Get a plasma ball and hold the bulb near it. It will light up because it energizes the phosphors. This might fix it. I noticed that that method can fix 3- way cfls that die for no apparent reason.

If the electrodes are shot, it won't work

I happen to find the all glass GE CFLs quite good, if the electronics fail at EOL, it will all be contained in the glass, but I guess that can be a problem in some cases...

Not a fan of the all glass GE CFL's. They get too hot for a CFL and take too long to warm up.

The idea of making a CFL without any plastic is good, but the concept needs to be improved. Once improved, I'd use them big time over LEDs.

On my last trip to Home Depot I noticed the Philips CFLs they sell appear to be the same as the Commercial Electric/N'vision.  Probably getting them from TCP now.

I noticed that same thing. Not really a fan of TCP anymore, after all the bad problems I have had with them.

GE Reveals are the best CFL if you want a warmer tone, incandescent quality light.  They can't be beat for warmth and naturalness of color.  They are the best replacement for soft white, Reveal and halogen incandescents.

I am awaiting delivery of some TCP 13 watt soft pink CFLs (color exclusive to TCP, I believe) and will report on their performance once I get them.

I am partial to warmer colored CFLs (and all fluorescents and HIDs in general).  I know a lot of you here on LG prefer the cool colors but not me.

UPDATE 5/21/2010: I finally received the TCP Soft Pink CFLs (both 15W but one is rated at 15k hours and the other for 10k hours).  They must have come on a slow boat from China because it took nearly two months to get them.

The verdict: Again, way too pink!    These would be more at home at the State Fair than in my living room.  Not a suitable replacement for conventional incandescent pink-tinted bulbs as I had sorely hoped.  Ideally, I would like a GE Reveal CFL with a very pale peach tint (either phosphor or externally applied).

These will go into my odd-ball collection -- bulbs I really don't have a use for now but may someday.