A single bulb in the center of the ceiling puts your own shadow directly onto whatever you are working on. That is the problem with most garage lighting, and it is not solved by a brighter bulb.
Work out the lumens, not the watts
Watts tell you what a fixture costs to run. Lumens tell you what it puts out. For general garage use, aim for roughly 50 lumens per square foot; over a workbench, closer to 75–100. A standard two-car garage of about 400 square feet therefore wants somewhere near 20,000 lumens overall — which is usually four to six 4-foot LED shop lights, not one fixture, however bright.
Spread beats brightness
Two moderate fixtures placed either side of where you stand will always beat one powerful fixture overhead, because they light the work from two angles and cancel each other's shadows. Run linear fixtures parallel to the long axis of the garage and space them evenly. If you have a bench against a wall, put a fixture in front of it rather than directly above — you want the light coming over your shoulder, not down onto your head.
Colour temperature: 4000K to 5000K
Warm bulbs at 2700K make a garage feel like a living room and make it harder to judge colour and detail. Daylight at 6500K is technically crisp but reads harsh and blue over a long session. 4000K–5000K is the range that stays comfortable while keeping detail sharp — it is what most shop lights ship at for good reason.
High bay or linear?
Ceiling height decides this. Under about 12 feet, linear LED shop lights are the right tool: they spread light broadly and mount flush or on short chains. Above 12 feet — a shop with an open truss ceiling, or a garage with a lift — UFO high bay fixtures throw light further down without wasting it against the walls. Using a high bay in a low garage produces glare; using a linear fixture in a tall shop produces a dim floor.
Two things people skip
First, linkable fixtures. Being able to daisy-chain four lights from one outlet turns a wiring job into an afternoon. Second, a rechargeable magnetic work light. No amount of ceiling lighting reaches inside a wheel well or under a sink, and a magnetic light that sticks where you need it does more for visibility than doubling your overhead output.
Fixtures for both cases — linear and high bay — are grouped in shop lighting, and if the bench is where you actually work, start with workbenches and tool storage.