Hate to be the guy who points out menial grammar mistakes, but you said "and" when you should have said "or". What you said implied that one cannot ride fast even on well lit city streets without hundreds of dollars worth of high quality lighting. That is obviously false.

"A $20 front light is useless unless you're riding in well lit city streets or going slow."

With a $20 front flasher you can ride as fast as you want in city streets, and be just as safe as if you had a $220 headlamp. You've demonstrated that yourself with the VistaLite Xenon... <$20, and it attracts attention, which is 100% of the job of a bicycle light on city streets.