First off,
play every electric guitar you can get your hands on. There are a lot of good ones out there, and a few crappy ones. Don't worry so much about brand. Even within one brand and model, you can find good ones and not-so-good ones. Have the store do a setup on the one that really interests you, if they didn't already set it up before hanging it up for sale.
Generally speaking, the PRS SE series are better guitars than Squiers: they cost more for a reason. But, a Squier is a better strat than an SE because, well, it is a strat. Again,
generally speaking, the Squiers are Fenders low end (Squier Affinity being the lowest, don't get one), the Mexican made ones are the middle ground, the USA made ones are the top production guitars, and then of course there's the Custom Shop, but there's no need to go on about those guitars in this thread. Epiphones are good too, it's a feel and playability and sound thing: personal preference.
I usually recommend a first guitar have the humbucker - single coil - single coil pickup arrangement, purely for versatility reasons, especially for those who like a wide range of music and are not quite sure what they are going after in sound yet.
Yamaha Pacificas are
great first time guitars. Godin guitars are unreal for the price. The Peavey Raptors ain't that bad either, for the price. not great, but not bad considering their price. There are some good copy brands out there. Vintage comes to mind. Some Jay Tursers are pretty decent. I could go on and on about my feelings for different brands, but go back to my first point - play as many as you can.
Tube vs. solid state - tube watts are louder than solid-state watts. you simply cannot compare. My 15 watt tube amp is way louder than my old 50 watt solid-state Peavey Bandit was. A good tube amp should last your whole life. But solid-state does have it's advantages too, less hassle (tube changes), will serve you well for a long time. Budget seems to be a big issue, so myself I'd probably get a full-featured solid-state amp over something like a Epiphone Valve Junior, but either way whatever is best for you. The Fender you mention I'm sure is a good one. There is also the Marshall MG series (and higher priced AVT series), Peavey Transtube, Crates, Laney, Ibanez ToneBlaster.
Play as many as you can. Do you need a headphone output for quiet practice? A line-in for a CD player or iPod is very handy for learning tunes and practicing. Certain desired features will lead toward certain amps (like, most tube amps do not have headphone jacks and line-inputs, a lot of solid-state amps do). For inexpensive tube amps the new Peavey ValveKing range are made in China.
I'd try and compare the Spider and Frontman side-by-side. But you probably can't do that if they are across town in different shops. So you should spend a good deal of time with each and get a feel for what sounds better. Not many people are sold on digital modelling amps for live use. For practice and at home, sure, but a common complaint is that digital modelling amps get lost in a live setting. But it sounds like you are not even close to that, so that becomes less if a consideration.
New vs. used - I'd try and buy used. You just simply get more for your money. More guitar and more amp. Sometimes a used Mexican strat can be found for what a Squier costs brand new. Also, certain brands are good guitars, just not as popular, so can be a good deal used. Used Peavey solid-state amps are plentiful so can be had for very decent prices.
Have fun on the quest and have fun playing.
"Stiny! Get me a danish!"
Help Desk