I keep pasta in whatever...much of it in free plastic pepper jars or just in boxes on the shelf.
It's pretty damn durable for long term storage as long as it doesn't get damp. I can certainly understand wanting to have a nice, even looking stash of goods, but I'd save the buckets and not worry about it going bad much.
Some things to consider for long term storage of pasta is cooking time.
The faster you can cook it means less energy wasted.
San Giorgio makes a new "3 minute" ziti; I bought some to try out; it goes on sale here for $1 box quite often.
Pastina cooks really quick
Angel Hair pasta cooks fast as hell too.
That being said I've started stocking my favorite brand of pasta through a friend who runs a restaurant. I can buy it in (4) 5lb bags or a 20lb case of boxes, but I actually prefer the boxes.
I just stack the boxes on the shelves...they are GTG for years
Speed