We present results of inelastic light scattering experiments on single-crystalline La2-xSrxCuO4 in the doping range 0.00 ≤ x = p ≤ 0.30 and Tl2Ba2CuO6+delta at p = 0.20 and p = 0.24. The main emphasis is placed on the response of electronic excitations in the antiferromagnetic phase, in the pseudogap range, in the superconducting state, and in the essentially normal metallic state at x ≥ 0.26, where no superconductivity could be observed. In most of the cases we compare B1g and B2g spectra which project out electronic properties close to (pi, 0) and (pi/2,pi/2), respectively. In the channel of electron-hole excitations we find universal behavior in B2g symmetry as long as the material exhibits superconductivity at low temperature. In contrast, there is a strong doping dependence in B1g symmetry: (i) In the doping range 0.20 ≤ p ≤ 0.25 we observe rapid changes of shape and temperature dependence of the spectra. (ii) In La2-xSrxCuO4 new structures appear for x < 0.13 which are superposed on the electron-hole continuum. The temperature dependence as well as model calculations support an interpretation in terms of charge-ordering fluctuations. For x ≤ 0.05 the response from fluctuations disappears in B1g and appears in B2g symmetry in full agreement with the orientation change of stripes found by neutron scattering. While, with a grain of salt, the particle-hole continuum is universal for all cuprates the response from fluctuating charge order in the range 0.05 ≤ p < 0.16 is so far found only in La2-xSrxCuO4. We conclude that La2-xSrxCuO4 is close to static charge order and, for this reason, may have a suppressed Tc.