This is definitely a YMMV situation. I have heard lots of reports of CFLs only lasting a couple of years, and I'm sure they're true, but I converted all the fixtures in my house to CFLs in the early 90s and most of those bulbs are still in service. I have been replacing them recently because their output and color temperatures have dropped dramatically, but so far none of them have "burned out".
When I bought these CFLs they were very, very expensive relative to incandescent or halogens. Now you can buy an eight pack of "60 watt replacements" for under $12 -- just a dollar more than an eight pack of equivalent incandescents. You can find 12 packs for $18, I wonder whether manufacturers have pulled back on quality to cut the price. I've seen non-dimmable 23w CFLs at unit prices as low as $2 and as high as $13.
As for LED bulbs, I have two supposedly identical bulbs but one has obviously sloppy build, lower-than advertised output, flicker, and an eye-frying violet color temperature. The other has flawless build quality and seems right on-spec. What I suspect is that the low quality bulb is a counterfeit. Cheap li-ion batteries are often counterfeits, sometimes made in the same factory that makes the genuine article. Who'd be better equipped to make an undetectable knock-off?
So the lesson may be to be careful where you buy your bulbs.