Which is least awful these days?
At this moment I'm FReeping to the light of a Sylvania 13W CF13EL/MINITWIST 3000K twisty CFL (the 3000K is the temp/color spectrum). That's the model in most of my sockets around the house. I find them quite acceptable, including for reading, conversation, etc. They're actually a pretty decent match to a 60W incandescent in terms of quality of light, I think.
In my shop and kitchen, for brighter light, I've got older Sylvania 20W CF20EL/830 4-inch triple-loop tubular CFLs, not sure what the color spectrum is on those, as it's not as critical in those places.
The most important thing for "how it looks", IMO, is the temp/color spectrum. If you want the warm glow of a certain wattage incandescent, get a CFL with a temp/color rating that is matched to the particular incandescent you like. They're available.