I have a Canoscan Lide30, and I thought I liked it, but have changed my mind. . . . The LED scanners (the 20, 30 and 40 that I have used) seem to have pretty severe problems with tonal drift. I was scanning graphite drawings with it, and when one side the image was correctly exposed, the other side would be way too dark. You might never really notice this when scanning photos, but it really sucks if you want to get a good range of greys. Also, I have been quite un-happy with the focus. Again there are areas on the scanner bed that are sharp, near the peripheries, the focus tends to soft. Unless the Lide80 is much improved, I don't think I would touch it.
Epson scanners on the other hand, I have had much better experience with. Image quality tends to be better both in the tonal ranges, and also in terms of focus across the entire scanner. (admitted most of my Epson experience is with Expressions, although the time I have used their consumer stuff, I was not unhappy). Oh ya, Epson drivers tend to be a little dicey, but thats the price you pay for better hardware.
Really the best thing you can do is take the kind of things you want to scan to the store and try the machines out. If you're happy with one and the price is right, then great.