As far as I'm concerned, CFL's never lived up to the hype. They touted long lifetimes (longer than incandescent), but I've never had one that gave anywhere near the stated lifetime; and obtaining the stated lifetime was crucial to recovering from the high bulb cost.
On the other hand, I've had incandescent bulbs in my house that have far exceeded guaranteed lifetimes.
To their (CFL manufacturers/evangelists) credit, they likely never envisioned LED bulbs increasing light output and dropping in cost so quickly. It wasn't that long ago that I was paying $30 for a 60/75W equivalent LED; now 60W equivalents cost $5. LED bulbs tout lifetimes of 20+ years, but manufacturers will only offer a replacement guarantee for 1-5 years. I've only had 4 bad LED bulbs (all Cree FWIW). One had loose bits in the bulb, one had a broken glass enclosure (before they came up with their plastic 4-flow design), one became intermittent, and one burned out; all in less than a year after purchase/install. Three were replaced under Home Depot's 30 day return policy. The 4th burned out under warranty, but it's such a pain in the you know what to get a replacement. I'm waiting to see if more die within the next year or two before sending them off to the manufacturer for replacement.
Still, my LED experience is better than my CFL experience. I've had over a dozen CFL's fail before getting even a quarter of the guaranteed lifetime; and couldn't get a replacement for any of them.
On the other hand, I've had incandescent bulbs in my house that have far exceeded guaranteed lifetimes.
To their (CFL manufacturers/evangelists) credit, they likely never envisioned LED bulbs increasing light output and dropping in cost so quickly. It wasn't that long ago that I was paying $30 for a 60/75W equivalent LED; now 60W equivalents cost $5. LED bulbs tout lifetimes of 20+ years, but manufacturers will only offer a replacement guarantee for 1-5 years. I've only had 4 bad LED bulbs (all Cree FWIW). One had loose bits in the bulb, one had a broken glass enclosure (before they came up with their plastic 4-flow design), one became intermittent, and one burned out; all in less than a year after purchase/install. Three were replaced under Home Depot's 30 day return policy. The 4th burned out under warranty, but it's such a pain in the you know what to get a replacement. I'm waiting to see if more die within the next year or two before sending them off to the manufacturer for replacement.
Still, my LED experience is better than my CFL experience. I've had over a dozen CFL's fail before getting even a quarter of the guaranteed lifetime; and couldn't get a replacement for any of them.