Seriously, I was kinda in a similar situation. I was just getting back into playing electric guitar after taking a few years off. I talked to a friend whose a professional musician/guitarist and he said to get a pod. I bought the pod xt in April and havn't looked back.
I do want to state that you should practice clean. Least thats my take, as you will make sure you are fretting correctly etc... but the Pod for jamming makes life alot more fun.
Also you can head over to Line6's website and in their forums folks post the sounds they get i.e. the amp/speaker combos and such.
I highly recommend the POD any chance I get.
Cheers!
I use heavy strings, tune low, play hard and floor it. Floor it. That's technical talk.
—SRV
—SRV