I have a couple of those big candles in glass jars about 10" tall and the diameter of a coke can. They burn for about a week nonstop. They are about $1.39 if you shop carefully and $2.00 or so if you don't. Either way, it's hard to get more cost effective than that, if you don't mind candles.

Aside from that, you want a few LED flashlights. There's lots of discussion of those already so I won't get into it here.

a bunch of candles and halves.
a few flashlights of different sizes.
and an old fashioned oil lamp that needs some new parts.(the metalwick holder and twisting knob on the side mostly).
cyalume glowsticks for the times when an open flame cant be used.

since were on the topic of emergency lgihting any suggestions on what brand of batteries (preferably in bulk) that isnt too expensive but has decent duration to use on our lighting devices?

1st off everyone has a key chain light and somekind of flashlight next to the bed. We have Sears/Craftsman re-chargable Ultra Beam flashlights, they are like a 6 volt flashlight. We also have 2 older re-chargable lanterns.
Plenty of batteries and a solar panel. I've been getting away from Chem lights for most things and going with LED Light Sticks. They come in Red, white, Green, Blue & Amber.
www.rangerjoe.com has them $7.50 for a pack of three, same color. Batteries $1.00 for pack of three needed for each light. Found I just wasn't using the Chem Lights except at Halloween when they expired. Item # 8800 for lights and # 8865 for batts, haven't seen them other places. Last resort is storm candles. Be carefull with candles, I believe that the Red Cross no longer recomends them because of fire danger.

I happen to be a Coleman Lantern collector so that's what we have in our house. All of our older lanterns have been totally rebuilt and pressure tested far above their normal working pressure. Properly used and cared for, pressurized lamps and lanterns are very safe. But, when using any fire generated light, the need for adequate ventilation is extremely important, especially in today's modern, almost airtight houses.

When you say Aladdin lamps, I think of those dishes with a spout like is used for pouring gravy.

What do those "gravy pourers" use for fuel?

Bountyhunter
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now, that's a goood boy !! <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

The style you're talking about was in use for thousands of years, and would burn almost any flammable liquid, or any flammable substance that becomes liquid at temperature (rendered/ cooking fats, for example). In the time and place that you're associating with it, they probably burned mostly olive oil. The open design is not as dangerous as it would seem, as such oils won't burn without (or beyond) a wick, but they're probably not recommended for those who might turn it over looking for a switch...

The "Aladdin" company in question was the same company that used to make vacuum bottles for kid's lunchboxes. They've been through a lot of changes, and not long ago they were bought out by a group of Aladdin lamp collectors, who have improved the quality and added quite a bit to the selection.

http://www.aladdinlamps.com/lamps/

They should use plain lamp oil. I have seen (although not tried) lamps that were simply dishes with a wick laying on one side. They used tallow (rendered animal fat) as the fuel. Reported to be smoky.

Emergency lighting in our home is no problem. We have (yes, I am Flashaholic) a hundred or more flashlights, both incandescent and LED’s. Most are battery powered, but we also have some solar powered and hand cranked versions. We have several house current, 12V and solar battery chargers for NiMh batteries. We have AA to C and D adaptors to allow the batteries to be used in a variety of devices. We have a stock of both alkaline and lithium batteries, in various sizes. We have several LED and incandescent lanterns, both battery powered and solar powered versions. We have propane, kerosene/lamp oil and white gas lanterns as well. An assortment of Krill lights, LED light sticks, chem. lights, and light diffusers to fit over flashlights. Since we do some 18thcen reenact. We have a number of candle lanterns and both buy and make our own candles. Pete

Ah, a topic that's become near and dear to my heart since last year's blackout.
Here's a post I made on candlepowerforums:
Blackout lighting

To boil it down, my recommendations for the best bang for the buck in LED lighting would be:
Innovage 12-LED lantern.

Boscov's sale on Innovage lantern

I'd never heard of this store until a couple weeks ago. Rite Aid also advertised this lantern at this price, but few were to be had - a store manager might be willing to order one for you, but I've spent nearly 2 months waiting for any result on this quest, and I tried to get them while they were still being advertised.
This is not the sturdiest LED lantern I've seen, but this is a great value. You shouldn't expect to get the same amount of light from these as what people are saying about Aladdin lamps, etc., but the light output should be sufficient for reading if you're sitting at the table this lantern is standing on, and perhaps a bit farther off than that. Uses 4D cells, and reports are it should give about 40 hours of light at its highest setting (it has a dimmer switch) and much longer life at lower levels.

Another great value, and a much smaller light, is the Energizer 2-LED folding lantern:
(click on this URL, then click "flashlight reviews")
Light reviews
The 2-LED folding lantern is No. 40 in this picture gallery. It runs on 4AA batteries, folds to a variety of angles, has a hook on the bottom so it can be hung from a hook or string, and has two light levels (low and barely brighter). You should get days of constant use out of it per set of batteries. This won't give a whole room blazing light, but it's sufficient to read by if you set it nearby. The best part is the price - Office Depot sells these, in NYC stores the price is $3.29 - you could easily put one in every room for that price.
At the stores I've visited, they're at the checkout counters hanging with the batteries - very easy to pass by them because they're so small. These would probably be most useful as small area lights in rooms to allow you to navigate - like as a bathroom nightlight, etc., but you could use several to create a larger "area light" effect.

Dorcy "Cool Blue" LED flashlight
Dorcy
Dorcy makes a whole line of lights of varying quality and utility - the one in question is shown as the center package of the three here, and that is the flashlight standing alone at the right. I've seen these priced at between $6.50 and $10 - at this price point, they're a good value. It's a squat, stocky light that's very sturdy, should run for several days continuously, can stand on its tail, has a folding ring that allows it to be hung and point down. A fellow at CPF said he used this light as a low-level room light, standing it on its tail and using the light reflected off the ceiling to light a small room. It has the added advantage of also projecting a narrow beam relatively far for using such a low-powered LED. I consider it a good cheap utility light, and a light I could loan to others without being worried about getting it back.

Those are the three fairly cheap lights that I have as "emergency" lights.

One more that I don't have any personal experience with, but has been recommended as another cheap alternative, is No. 35 on that "Light Reviews" link above. Apparently Target stores have had these on clearance sales (unsure if they're still available) for 3 for $10. They run on 1 D cell each, and should give low-level lighting for days on a single battery.
Good luck
Dave