I would also look a light tans and creamy whites. It is virtually impossible to pick out the exact shade on a computer. You should go to a paint store with you samples find five or less colors you like bring them home pick two and the sample them on core board. It very important to see the colors in the space. If you are getting new lighting wait until it is installed before making a final decision. Here are some colors I came up with; none is perfect, but I like muslin.

https://youtu.be/KAUak7Xneh0 Here is a video of our basement. We used color to define various areas within the Great Room. Basements require good artificial lighting in order to make them feel comfortable. My suggestion is to paint your color(s) under consideration onto a 2x2 piece of drywall that can be moved about to view. Good luck.

Flo Mangan -- I hear ya. back when people were switching off incandescent, I did a bunch of comparisons to figure out what is so awful about CFLs and LEDs. I realized a big difference is the shadows! incandescents give a soft diffused edge to a shadow. there's something about the hard edge CFL and LED shadow that really kills a room. so nearly every fixture in my house has some kind of cover to diffuse it -- whether that's paper, white acrylic, frosted or white glass, etc. it helps a lot. that, and appropriate color temp. I feel like LEDs have come a really long way though. when I first bought them, they were so warm and dim. practically orange. they've improved a lot! Jennifer Hogan I agree that 4,000K isn't truly neutral. but I personally think a room needs just a tinge of warmth to feel good. just like how most people don't go for true white paint. it's just a personal preference. it's kind of like the difference between the sunlight coming in from north vs south facing windows. I'm always going to prefer south!

"Foolproof" is a tall order, dude. But if I were you (I'm looking for inspiration to repaint my basement TV room, myself) I'd consider an olive green, as bright or muted as you please. Green would be a great contrast and complement to the gray and mocha; sort of a substitute for the lack of window-views of trees (or maybe your basement has windows - you didn't say).