I used a Washburn Chicago series for metal and it was OK ($500.00 New). It was no where near as nice as my Strat ($500.00 second hand) but did have a FR tremolo system. The Strat I have has 9s on it at the moment and is just incredibly fast. I tried 9s on the Washburn and the trem system really did not like it however this may be a peculiarity of this particular guitar. In terms of action the Strat kicks the ass of my PRS and laughs out loud of the Washburn (even with the trem adjusted flat against the body). If you are a whammy fiend the standard strat trem is very very lame however if trem dives just annoy you the strat is your man.
Personally I love single coils as I find they have more bite than humbuckers even with the really modern hi gain amps (as described by Line 6 !). I have never had a problem with single coils making too much noise however I avoid fluorescent lighting, ground loops, computer monitors and all that good stuff.
Hope this helps
S