The coordination chemistry of lead(II) in the oxygen donor solvents water, dimethylsulfoxide (dmso, Me(2)SO), N,N-dimethylformamide (dmf), N,N-dimethylacetamide (dma), N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (dmpu), and 1,1,3,3-tetramethylurea (tmu), as well as in the sulfur donor solvent N,N-dimethylthioformamide (dmtf), has been investigated by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and/or large angle X-ray scattering (LAXS) in solution, and by single crystal X-ray diffraction and/or EXAFS of solid hydrates and solvates. Lead(II) may either form hemidirected complexes with large bond distance distribution and an apparent gap for excess electron density, or holodirected ones with a symmetric coordination sphere with normal bond distance distribution, depending on the strength of antibonding lead 6s/ligand np molecular orbital interactions and ligand-ligand interactions. The crystallographic data show that the solid lead(II) perchlorate and trifluoromethanesulfonate hydrate structures are hemidirected, while the solid lead(II) solvates of dma and dmpu have regular octahedral configuration with holodirected geometry and mean Pb-O bond distances in the range 2.50-2.52 A. EXAFS data on the hydrated lead(II) ion in aqueous solution show broad bond distance distribution and a lack of inner-core multiple scattering contributions strongly indicating a hemidirected structure. The Pb-O bond distances found both by EXAFS and LAXS, 2.54(1) angstrom, point to a six-coordinate hydrated lead(II) ion in hemidirected fashion with an unevenly distributed electron density. The results obtained for the dmso solvated lead(II) ion in solution are ambiguous, but for the most part support a six-coordinate hemidirected complex. The mean Pb-O bond distances determined in dmf and dma solution by LAXS, 2.55(1) and 2.48(1) angstrom, respectively, indicate that in both solvate complexes lead(II) binds six solvent molecules with the former complex being hemidirected whereas the latter is holodirected. The dmpu and tmu solvated lead(II) ions have a regular holodirected octahedral configuration, as expected given their space-demanding characteristics and ligand-ligand intermolecular interactions. The dmtf solvated lead(II) ion in solution is most likely five-coordinate in a hemidirected configuration, with a mean Pb-S bond distance of 2.908(4) angstrom. New and improved ionic radii for the lead(II) ion in 4-8-coordination in hemi and holodirected configurations are proposed using crystallographic data.