My only experience in kitchen lighting until my current kitchen has been having one or two light fixtures centered in the room or having a fluorescent fixture. All of these lights had the same problem.
Light coming from one point of contact no where near the work zones. I would always have shadows and would compensate with under counter lighting but it still wasn't perfect.

To me, the kitchen is the one room that it is absolutely worth it to have recessed lighting. The only other alternative I can think of would be track lighting. You really want light coming from multiple sources and hitting the tops of your counters so when you are standing at the counter and working, you aren't casting your shadow.

I do have to say 100 a can seems so expensive though! I have done all the work myself though so it is entirely possible that is a normal rate.

Does $100 a can include both the hardware plus the labor to install? or just the hardware? or just the labor?

I think $100 a can including both hardware and labor seems pretty reasonable. We got a bid from an electrician not that long ago that charged so much per light and I can't remember exactly how much that was but I'm pretty sure it was more than $100 and that didn't include the hardware (which is about $30 for a recessed LED 6 inch can light from Home Depot). We're in Houston (I know that geographical location can make a huge difference some times.)

We just had several put in. Electrician charged $50 per light for installation. We provided the fixture. We used Halos new LED disk lights. They were about $40 each

I don't know the answer, but I know I LOVE our new recessed lights. We kept the fan/light in the middle, and kept the light over the sink and that's all there was to keep! We added 9 Cree 4 in LED recessed cans plus LED UCL, and our new hood has working lights now too. I don't have a labor breakdown that specific, but I know I paid about $15 per housing and $42 per light (comes pre-trimmed).

Not sure where you are located but for us 100 dollars for light is standard cost if it CFL if it is LED it is close 125 dollars per light. We are in a high cost area in California.

I know I am in the minority, but I just dont care for recessed lights. I dont like the way they break up the ceiling. I did not put them in during my remodel. I have under and over cabinet lighting, two lights over island, and one over sink. It seems plenty to me.

I think it depends on the layout, etc. I wouldn't get them just because "everybody else has them". I have a small galley kitchen with a small eat-in area at the end. The whole room is about 8' x 19' before cabinets, etc. The galley's about 11' long, and the eat-in about 7' x 8'. There's a window over the sink and two windows in the eating area. It was kinda dark before the redo. I had a ceiling light in the galley area, an over the sink light and a ceiling light in the eating area. I didn't want to spend more for recessed, although there was going to be one over the sink. I used the same box locations with a flush ceiling light in the galley area, a semi-flush in the eating area, and because of a !surprise! ceiling joist, had to use a flush ceiling light over the sink.

I did add LED dimmable tape lights (don't know the actual term) under the cabinets, and there's a light under the micro-hood that has 2 or 3 levels.

I have more than enough light and no shadows. I think the main thing is that I selected fixtures that allowed 3 or 4 bulbs, at least 60w. That way I can make each fixture have a maximum light as bright as I want. (I've been happy with Cree 40w or 60w LED bulbs, and using 3-60w or 4-40w in a fixture is plenty bright!)

I have a small kitchen 10 x 13 and we did not put in recessed lights, (DH wanted to) partially because I felt the ceiling would look to cluttered with the ceiling fan, 3 pendants, and a light above the sink. Very soon after using the new kitchen I realized my mistake and we will be installing them very soon. Thankfully Dh is handy and can do the work himself. I strongly suggest you put them in and as long as the hardware is included in that price I don't feel that it is too expensive.

Speaking of ceiling fans and recessed lights... Be sure to keep recessed lights far enough from ceiling fan blades so that the blades don't cast a shadow. Ceiling fan blade shadows are intolerable for most people.

We have recessed lights in our kitchen, family room, and one bedroom, 14 in all, and I like them. We happen to live in an area of the country plagued by stink bugs. The lights attract the bugs down from the attic and they are somehow able to get into our living area through through the cans. Recently we found dimmable LED retrofit lights that are completely sealed around the bulb. They installed quickly and easily and I swear we haven't seen a stink bug in the house since we got them weeks ago. They are wonderful. I don't recommend having cans that have open space around the bulbs. Opt for the cooler LED lights that can be sealed if you live in an area with stink bugs. For those of you who don't know the bugs I'm talking about, consider yourself lucky.

If you get recessed lights you should specify the exact lights and dimmers to use. Cree has very good lights and are not expensive. If the GC insists on an inferior light, I'd get it installed by someone else. Check the Lighting forum for more info.

Lynne-in-PA- I WISH I had stink bugs coming through my light fixtures or vents from the attic.

Try scorpions. Sometimes they fall off the ceiling onto the carpet, which is oh so convientally the same color as they are.

Scorpions could fall of the face of the planet tomorrow as far as I'm concerned.

Those of you with problems with bugs crawling from the attic into the light fixture need to use air-tight insulated ceiling (IC) cans. The aforementioned sealed retrofit lights are called LED modules; they integrate the floodlamp bulb with the trim bezel, which also saves the cost of a separate trim kit. I've used the Cree CR6 extensively; they work well. HD sells them, as do many lighting or electrical stores and the usual online vendors.