how do I make my guitar sounds good?

do I need a good amp? a good guitar? or a good pickup?
actually I don't really understand pickups.can anybody
tell me about it?
how do I use those switches to play it right?
thankx~

you realy dont need all that stuff but start your own style to use and then addd the sound effects. thats what im doing now study your fav guitarits style and add your own style thats the easyest way to make your sounds better...go to a musit store like (mars) and try out some stomp boxes and see what sound do you want to use ........keep tryin ...

You need all three of those things. For high gain (lots of distortion), use your bridge pickup (perferably a humbucker).
A good part of your sound comes from your playing technique, also.