Justin,
The lightbulb shape is more firm. The fan shape you will find with Simpson brushes and Rooney brushes are a bit more "floppy". Now, this is not a bad thing if the brush is densely packed. Most gents have a definite preference. I have over 20 brushes, and the Shavemac brushes are the only ones with the lightbulb shape. I dearly love them. But a nicely packed Rooney (I have a
Style 2 small Super) is also a great brush. I shave with both a straight razor and a DE. For me, the best part of the shave is using the brush with a quality shaving cream or shaving soap. The razor is secondary. It takes time to learn what your preference will be. It also takes a bit of investment. During the past two years, I've learned that I prefer soaps to creams. The razors are a toss up. I enjoy using a straight and everything associated with it. But I also enjoy my DE razors. It just proves that variety is the spice of life.
RT