Need some information on video file size

Hey everyone, I'm really new to making Let's Plays. I was wondering if you guys could help clear something up, so I can know if I'm doing anything wrong.

I've read through a lot of other threads here that were about file size, but I couldn't find an exact answer or guide. YouTube also wasn't very helpful, so here goes...

I record my footage using Shadowplay, at 1080p, 60fps and around 50 bitrate, and they're 20-30 minutes long.

Since it records in h.264 and not raw footage. The file size is a lot smaller than when compared to FRAPS or dxtory.

But here's where I'm not sure if I'm doing the right thing: I use Adobe Premiere to edit the video, and when I'm done with it, the video is easily 3GB, but it doesn't retain the quality the original recording did. When you pause the video, and look at certain details, you can tell it's a bit more blurry than the original.

I exported it as h.264, at 1080p 60fps, VBR 2 pass, 16 bitrate. (even though YouTube recommends 12 bitrate for 1080p videos, the quality still isn't at the level I want it to be)

After that, I tried recording with the same settings, except I recorded at 130 bitrate (Shadowplay original footage), and encoded it in Adobe Premiere at a bit over 60 bitrate, the image quality was closer to what I wanted (still not there), but the file was almost 7 GB, which would take me about 4-5 hours to upload.

I know about Handbreak, I've tried it, but even though it shrinks the file from 7GB to about 1.6GB, I can tell the quality is lowered (even though it's small).

So... If I'm not willing to compromise on video quality, what kind of file sizes can I expect? (1080p, 60fps, 20-30mins) Will any of this matter after YouTube compresses the video further? (if YT does it at all)

I've seen people say their 1080p 60fps 20min videos take 1-2GB, but in 90% of gameplay footage I see on YouTube, the video quality simply isn't crisp enough for me.

So can anyone shed some light on this please?