It depends on how much you plan on playing. If you just want a guitar to noodle around with every once in a while, you shouldn't splurge and by a high end guitar. A guitar that stays in tune, has a straight neck, and sounds good to you should be all that you need. Something in the price range of under $500.00, like some of the Mexican made Fender Stratocasters or some of the Ibanez guitars would be good examples.

But if you are totally into playing and find yourself playing hours at a time and you can't get enough of playing, and you think that you would like to play gigs eventually, then maybe you should consider getting something a little more professional. Something made of quality wood with up graded tuners, and electronics. PRS, Gibson Les Paul Standard, Fender American Strat., etc... Keep in mind that you could spend anywhere from $700.00 to a couple thousand for one of those guitars, depending on where you live. If your just starting out, but really plan on playing a lot, I don't think you can go wrong with a Fender American Strat. They are very versatile, you can do all kinds of modifications to their electronics without hurting their resale value, and they are pretty classic. I don't think they make the greatest death metal guitars, but for rock, blues, jazz, country, etc... you can't go wrong with one.

If you decide to buy used, make sure you actually physically play the instrument and bring someone who knows a lot about guitars with you to check it out before you buy it. I can't tell you how many bad purchases I've seen people make over the years (including myself) of used gear because they just didn't really know what they were looking at. Good luck.