Hey Everybody,
The reason I would look around online first is because, on most of these sites you can find out what owners think of the instruments, craftsmanship, electronics, and other things you may not know. They usually have reviews on these topics somewhere on the page. If it's a brand new model, there won't be as much info, but you should be able to find out something.

You don't have to buy online, but looking around will give you an idea of price, and other things you want to know. Since you said you prefer an electric/acoustic, one of the most important things is the electronics, and how they hold up with use.

You mentioned running it through an amp, but you also may want to run it through a sound board sometime. You don't want to HAVE to buy another guitar, if you start performing in public. Most of the electronics in name brand guitars will also have an xlr output, so you can plug it into a mic input on a board too.

Looking around online will take alot of the guess work out of finding what you want. Then go out and play some guitars at the music stores, and you'll already have most of the questions answered. Then it's just a matter of finding the one that you like best. Let us know how it goes, and if we can do anything else to help you.