Re: $1500... what LED lights to buy?
And lumens won't tell you "how it looks"... or how horribly it will likely look in the hands of idiots at the lighting board. Don't get me started on LED lighting... IMO: It's the next most awful thing to come down the pike since polyester clothing of the '70's... all in the consumer pandering spirit of being: "Cheaper (sort-of), easier (sort-of), and "better" (somehow... if you look past the really awful qualities)... but generally totally fails next to the real thing done right. (Flame suit on.)Also, keep in mind that lighting is lumens, not watts just like audio is spl and not watts.
The spec in lumens is what will tell you which is brighter. The watts won't.