1). My advice to anyone such as yourself is play it yourself, don't be self concious, just play a few things you normaly would and see how differnt guitars feel.

2). Pay attention to the way it sounds unplugged, if it sounds like a toy then, it probably won't be much better pluged in; the tone will be more in the hands of your pickups and amp. And I do realize that most electrics sound like a toy unplugged, but the good ones sound alot less toyish, and I'm sure you can hear the differnce.

3). Contrary to what Atomic says, I think an Epiphone is worth 2 Gibsons (atleast the cheaper Gibsons anyway).

4). Pay close attention to the used guitars, my two favorite instruments were used, and I won't part with either. My strat was $300 and came with a nice hardshell case and a strap. I couldn't of spent my income tax return better.

5). AND THIS IS IMPORTANT: Feel out the guitar shops in your area. You'll know who to trust and who to avoid. I know that if I go to "Downtown Dave's" I know that under no circumstances will I get burned, bucause noone who works there will allow that to happen. Also, if a good shop see's you coming back again and again, you'll notice they'll start cutting you deals.

and I really hope I haven't confused you