caeman

I have my 4-year old son beat on skill, but he has me in creativity. There are certain sounds I never realized a guitar should make.

So, you have a $500 budget for a non-gigging, just-for-practice-at-home amp. Sounds to me like you could save some coin by going with one of those tiny 5w tube amps. Plenty loud if you are into loud for the sake of being loud. Small, easy to stow away. Then you spend the rest of the money on effects pedals.