I own two Fender Strats with single coils and one with hmbuckers... My newest one is a 2011 American Standard Special Run Thin Skin and honestly, you're not going to tell the difference between a humbucker and the more modern single coils in Fenders Stratocasters...

Now, if you're looking at a vintage reissue type guitar... that's a different story. I also have a strat with Custom Shop '69 pickups in it and the tone is not nearly as high output and can get very brittle... but then again, that's what single coils are known for.

In short - Look for a strat with newer Alnico V pickups and you should be just fine...

Still, there's no replacement for the sound of an overdriven tube amp pushed by single coils... Just can't get that with a Les Paul.