One thing you might want to keep in mind while shopping for a new guitar is versatilitly. For this reason I'd recommend something with humbuckers (with 4 conductor wiring) or humbucker/single coil combination. I have an SG that I've added a pull volume pot to switch between serial and parrallel coil configurations which lends itself well to anything from the Doobies to Van Halen.

I would definately recommend look at some Godin guitars. I just recently added their Solidac model to my collection. Lots of bang for the buck. As for amps, I've had Fenders, Peavey's, a Crate and Acoustic. None of them could hold a candle to the Marshall vs-65 I'm using now.