You can go expensive (and do the dimmable low voltage lighting) or go the cheaper route, and use rope lighting. We are planning on doing that. We will just plug them in over each cabinet section, and use a remote light switch to turn them on. You can get it set up so that you only need one switch to activate multiple outlets.

This part of the project is the 1% that is calling my kitchen "finished" and we can probably knock it out in a short time.

I used fluorescent because I have vaulted ceilings and not possible to do recessed cans and I wanted some kind of light that would actually light up the room if needed. Wasn't looking for ambiance lighting as I get that with in and under cabinet lights. I ended up liking it much better than I thought I would - as long as I use the warmer, more yellowish bulbs and not the cold blue-white ones. It's kind of like sunlight coming from above my cabinets.

I considered the expensive type but wasn't sure I wanted to get into that, so I decided to go with the cheap route and see if I liked it. I figured as long as I had power up there I could change out the fixtures if cheap didn't work.

I had a switched receptacle installed on top of my cabinets, and just used rope lights from Home Depot. I think they cost $30.

This is a daytime picture but you can see the little glow at the top of the shelf.
{{!gwi}}

Here's what it looks like on top. I tried placing them at the front of the shelf but it cast weird shadows with the stuff up there. Back of the shelf worked much better. The lights come with little clippy things that you screw into the top of the cabinets and the rope clicks into them to hold it in place. It's very easy.
{{!gwi}}

We haven't done it yet but are going the cheap route too - rope lights from HD. If it doesn't work out we can do something different since we have power up there.

Gee, I guess I went the semi-expensive route with dimmable xenon light bars for my in-cab, below cab and above-cab lighting. Because they're line voltage fixtures, they don't need transformers. The manufacturer is Wac Lighting.

Here is a link that might be useful: Wac Xenon Light Bars

I guess we went the more expensive route. We installed low voltage mini track lighting from Juno. It was the same we used for the undercabinet lighting so it was just a matter of ordering more parts. But the upper and under cabinet lights match in color and if I crank them up to full brightness they provide enough indirect light to light up the kitchen at night. Not bright enough to work, but enough to get a quick snack or drink.

Note: the colors look off in this picture because the backsplash is raw drywall and the upper is painted. The lights are the same. {{!gwi}}From GW Album

It depends on what you're looking for. Fluorescent over cabinet fixtures will provide the greatest amount of indirect light while rope lights will provide the least.

If you want to be able to dim the lights, choose a xenon light strip: it's the only product that will be completely dimmable. However, xenon light strips are also probably the most difficult to install.

Rope lights are typically considered the least expensive option but they are also comparable in price to microfluorescent light fixtures and xenon light strips. With rope lights, you can choose between incandescent and LED light. LED is more energy-efficient and the light appears to be a bit more white than the yellow of incandescent.

There are so many options - I can see why you're looking for direction! It's hard to sum up everything in a comment but feel free to comment back with any specifics you're looking for so I might help provide more guidance. In the meantime, check out the "FAQ" tab on the link I'm adding, it might be very helpful.

Here is a link that might be useful: Over Cabinet Lighting