What colors are best for icons? Do you think bright colors that stick out are good or would you think that the most important thing is that they blend with your website?

I think average colors are good for icons. Remember it should not be too dark as well as bright. It must have an average among colors to attract visitors.

I prefer bright, bold colors for most of my icons, but even so, there are times when a pastel can really pop for the viewer.

I'm going to have to chime in in agreement here, that you need a good blend of shades, depths, hues, and brightnesses of color to get the best result, no matter what you are making graphically.

Stay away from pastels what ever you do. I think what is equally as important as color is how many colors you use. I would stick to one or two and do what the previous poster suggested. Stick with shadow shape and line to create depth.