Hello all, I am in complete agreement in terms of going with a modeling amp. The advantages are huge, especially in an apartment setting. You can achieve excellent tones at very low volumes and most modeling amps have a direct out that can be used as a headphone output as well.

My personal favorite is the line 6 spider IV 75 w 1x12. It has all the basics built into it - a chromatic tuner, several well programmed amp models and enough effects to dial in most any sound you can think of. I've been using line 6 amps for years now and this particular model is perfect for personal practice, band rehearsals and it is powerful enough to play small venues un-miced if need be.