The best advice I can give you is not to read reviews about guitars but to go to a shop and play ones in your price range. You might find a cheap Squire plays well enough that you can spend some more cash on a really nice amp that you can grow into a bit. And keep in mind also that most people buy an amp that is about twice the size they really *need*. Its a bit like televisions.

__________________
---"Why do things have to suck so bad?" a friend once asked me.
"Because space is a vacuum and that's a lot of suck." I replied.
(Actual quote)---