I love the look of the Les Paul as well, but just realize they are quite heavy, and the necks are usually somewhat bulky, and with only a single cut away, accessing the upper frets could be more of a challenge as well.

I am an epiphone fan as well,. I have a cheap little Epiphone Les Paul special II as well as a newer SG muse. I prefer to play the Muse, because it's not quite as heavy and feels more natural to play for me.

In my opinion, if you get a nice modeling amp, you can experiment with dozens, if not hundreds of sounds, along with tweaking them to an almost infinite number of sounds. I use a Line-6 but there are several modeling amps on the market, to look at, I know fender offers the Mustang.

As for extran gear, a good case is always useful, but I have no particular recomendation, although I suggest a hard case over a soft/foam case.

Capo, never used one.

Cables, since I also DJ, and have some exprensive equipment, I have learned to not skimp when it comes to cables, buy quality cables, they will last a long timne.

Straps, i use one of the elastic style, it gives me a lot more flexibility, and doesn't dig in.