Hi Jim,
I believe I used the "18-LED Tower Type BA15" bulbs in red, for my brake lights in the stock tail lamps. The LEDs on the sides of the bulb bounce light off of the whole reflector instead of just straight out the back. LEDs are much more directional than filament bulbs.
18 High Power SMD LED 1156/1157 Tower Bulb Specifications (#115618T I think. My brakes are not on the same bulb as my tail light bulbs if I recall correctly)
I see they also have electronic blinkers for the turn signals so you could swap in LED bulbs for those too.