First rule of Home Automation: “the model number matters.” It’s not that all smart bulbs are bad, it’s just that GE links are particularly bad.
Ikea Tradfri bulbs are inexpensive and happen to work particularly well in a smartthings zigbee network. 
The product description will say that they need their own gateway, but they don’t: you would be using the smartthings hub instead. So if you like basic white smart bulbs, I would just switch to those. (The higher the lumens the brighter the bulb.)
Another alternative If you want color bulbs is INNR bulbs or hue brand bulbs when connected to a huge bridge. Although technically these could be connected directly to a smartthings hub, it’s a bad idea as they can mess up your zigbee network. The hue brand bulbs have a few additional features like being able to set behavior after a power outage, but other than that the INNR are a good budget choice.
https://www.amazon.com/Philips-SmartThings-Required-Dimmable-Equivalent/dp/B08428JSDZ
So those are three different brands and many different models which will work much better with smartthings than the GE links.
At our house we use a mix with some smart bulbs in some settings and some smart switches with dumb bulbs in others. It just depends on The specifics of each case.