Buying a light bulb used to be a no-brainer. Now it's a brain teaser; the transition to more energy-efficient lighting means choosing from a dazzling array of products. We've long identified bulbs ...

Compact-fluorescent lights, or CFLs -- the bulbs that look like a twisted ice-cream cone (and won’t fit in many light fixtures where space is tight) -- will become the new norm.

A federal ban on the sale of incandescent lightbulbs is now in effect as of Aug. 1. While the bulbs are still legal to own, retailers are prohibited from selling them and companies from making them.