To use HTML/CSS with inline elements to create this with rollovers, or to use images with Javascript to create the rollovers
I think that the HTML/CSS way will load faster, however I cannot get the navigation bar looking the same as the attached image. If I was doing it this way would I use a background image and then code the inline elements over this image?
You can use a combination of CSS and an image replacement technique if you can't duplicate that look with text (which, honestly, shouldn't be hard at all - it's just white text on a grey background from what I see). What font is it? Looks like Arial or something.
I'm not sure what font it is but id say that Arial is the closest you would get for web. The grey background is a gradient. Im not too sure how you would get a gradient background behind the text. Could you explain what you mean by using a combination of CSS and image replacement.