pickups come in single coil like usually found on fender strats and teles or dual coil (humbucker) usually found on gibson les pauls. This is not always true but a rule of thumb as fender makes an "hss" model which stands for humbucker/ single/ single coil setup. Now fender makes a wide variety of priced guitars and as the price goes up usually the hardware, materials and craftsmanship gous up. But I have heard from a fair amout of players that the mexican version if setup properly can be very nice. If you are able to spend $1000 on a guitar, that is a beautiful thing. That means that you dont have to hunt and peck for that $250 guitar where quality control may be an issue. But please try holding a few models just to make sure you have found "the one" and always have it properly set up with the string guage you will be using. Also keep in mind that there are a few hidden expenses of guitar playing. besides the amp and cable, strap, new strings, picks, tuner, metronome, headphones, etc.
And last but not least, there is a bug that most musicians get after a certian time to buy new gear. You may be immune but be prepared for it as it could bite at any given trip to the music store.
More about pickups though. Look at you favorite players and see what they use. Eric Clapton, David Gilmore and Jimi Hendrix all used single coils. John5 also uses single coil telecasters. Jimi Page, Slash and Zakk Wylde use humbuckers.
As far as practice amps go, There are even more options. Most people will tell you to get a tube amp but these are more expensive than solid state. Personally, If I was looking for a tube practice amp, I'd be looking at fender or vox model.
Hope this long post helps. and if you do happen to get an american made telecaster, I will be very jealous.