From what I'm to understand, all LED lit LCDs with local dimming suffer from these issues, how badly depends on the various models. It's really noticeable when viewing off axis. Traditional CCFL lit models have "softer" lighting and it's not really a problem.
I personally don't care for an extremely bright display anyways. I prefer plasma but as far as LCD goes...you can't beat the Vizios. I have a 32" Vizio sitting in my bedroom on "Movie" mode. I tweaked it a bit and now it looks pretty darn good. For just over $400 for a 1080p with plenty of connections, it's well worth it to me. It's a big step from their older 720p displays.
If I was going to pay anything over $1000, I wouldn't waste my time even looking at any LCD, let alone a "LED" lit model, but for a decent display up to 42"....Vizio has my vote.