The best hardwired under-cabinet lighting

Plug-in under-cabinet bars are excellent, and for renters they are the right answer. But a hardwired run has advantages no plug-in can match: no cords at all, no outlet taken up on the backsplash, and control from a switch or dimmer on the wall where everyone expects it.

The cost is that it is electrical work - an electrician's job in most homes, and not something a renter can do. If that rules it out, the plug-in picks are in plug-in under-cabinet lighting, and the full trade-off is in battery vs hardwired under-cabinet lighting.

Juno Contractor Select UCES 24 in. - the pick. 736 lumens at CRI 90, with 2700K, 3000K or 3500K on a switch, daisy-chaining through a side knockout for a continuous run, direct-wired through the rear, and compatible with most standard incandescent dimmers. It is built for exactly this job.
Cons: 736 lumens is modest for 24 inches; the color range stops at 3500K; damp rated.

Feit Electric OneSync panel - when you cannot run wire between cabinets. 750 lumens at CRI 90 with five color settings from 2700K to 5000K and a built-in junction box. Panels sync wirelessly with each other, so cabinets separated by a range hood or a window still switch together.
Cons: only 9.5 inches long despite the 12 inch name; the remote is extra; dimmer type not published.

GetInLight IN-0210-3 - hardwired now, or plugged in. CRI 90 with 2700K, 3000K or 4000K on a slide switch, linking up to 20 units, and offered for hardwired or plug-in installation. Useful if you are not sure yet whether the wiring will happen.
Cons: no lumen or wattage figure published; damp rating not published.

Enbrighten 18 in. plug-in bar - the no-electrician alternative. 1,245 lumens at CRI 92 with five color settings and dimming built in - better published numbers than most hardwired bars, on a plug.
Cons: a cord to route; it uses an outlet.

Decide where the switch goes. A hardwired run is only as convenient as its control. A switch or dimmer beside the counter, not across the kitchen, is the point of wiring it in.

Choose how the run connects. Daisy-chaining (Juno) or linking (GetInLight) suits a continuous run of cabinets; wireless sync (Feit OneSync) suits cabinets broken up by a hood, window or corner.

Set one color for the whole run. All three picks have color switches. Set every fixture the same - 3000K to 4000K suits most kitchens, per Feit's guidance, and is compared in 3000K vs 4000K.

Mount toward the front. Placed at the back, the light mostly hits the backsplash. Toward the front edge, behind the lip, it lights the counter where you work.