i'd say go fender. i bought a little 25W Fender Frontman when i got my guitar, it cost about $175 CAD, and it's very powerful and has an okay clean tone.

but if you have $300 to spare, you could get yourself a nice fender amp.

i haven't heard much good about crates, they do look cool, but most guitarists i talk to say they avoid them.

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ok, i'm not really the eggman