I own a gibson sg special faded. it's an amazing guitar! I play metal on it daily, and it sounds great when played clean. you really will not be disappointed with this guitar.

I have also played a low-end ESP, and for the price it is a very nice guitar, I'm sure if you got an ESP in you price range it would be even nicer. however, alot of ESPs have active EMG pickups, these are great for metal, however, from what I've heard they are terrible when playing clean. but if you can find an ESP with some duncans, that would probably be a great guitar.

I've never used a jackson, and can't speak for them personally, but I hear good things.

So, I say the gibson, or if you'd rather, then go with the ESP... they have different feels, neck shapes, etc. so, if I were you I would try them both out and see which you like better.