The light output on those HD Cree bulbs is awful. They also have too many hot spots causing uneven distribution of light.
The old Philips L Prize was a fantastic piece of light bulb technology, but prohibitively expensive for many. One of the nicest A19 style LED bulbs I have used is made by Bulbrite. It has a couple of hot spots, but not nearly as many as the Cree bulb while emitting much more light.
Most of the models sold at HD and Lowes are on the lower end of LED technology so that the manufacturer can hit the mandated price points of these big box stores.
