You guys are awesome, thank you all so much for all well thought out replies. I don't know many guitar players in real life so having somewhere online to come for advice is so nice.
So I had a chance to go to a local shop and play some guitars today and I think I can narrow down my preferences.
-I think I prefer a shorter scale. This actually surprised me, as in the acoustic world I lean more towards long scale, but for playing with bends, hammer-ons, and bluesy sorts of stuff, the Gibson scale just felt proper.
-As to sound, I didn't quite understand what was meant by calling a tone "thick" but I think I get it now, and the darker, thicker LP tone sounded awesome to my ears. I liked an SG I tried as well, but I kept going back to the LPs as my favourites.
-I favoured the Gibson necks as well; some of the fenders I was playing felt like the necks were too thin, and coupled with the thinner nut it just wasn't quite as comfortable.
Thus: I think I want a Les Paul -- they just felt right. I definitely didn't realize they were so heavy, but as I'll be playing sitting down, this doesn't really bother me.
I wish money wasn't such a factor, but I think I'll have to set my upper budget at around $800 USD. This isn't set in stone, and it could be pushed a tad given waiting awhile longer, but also if I could get away with spending even less I'd be very happy. I'd prefer to buy new, just because I don't have any experience evaluating used electric guitars and would be afraid of getting ripped off, but I'm not necessarily opposed to buying used, as it seems that by deciding to go in the LP direction, anything I can do to stretch my dollars will be a big help.
Based on today, I think what it's going to come down to is whether or not to go with a high-end Epiphone or a low-end Gibson.
-I tried an Epi LP 100 and wasn't crazy about it.
-The Epi LP Standard and Standard Pro were much better. Felt good, sounded good. The standard pro has coil-tapping switches, and while having more options has appeal, I definitely preferred the usual humbucker configuration.
-Tried a couple different Gibson studios, and was very pleased with how they felt and sounded (wish they came in a burst though!). Similar experience with a faded T model. I liked the Gibsons better, but I don't know if there was enough of an improvement to justify the difference in cost.
-I intentionally didn't stray into the high-end LP realm because I didn't want to fall in love... maybe some day, but for right now the cost is just too prohibitive.
As to amps, I didn't experiment with very many -- I got so caught up trying guitars that I didn't want to test my better half's patience any longer. To those that mention having a headphone jack, I couldn't agree more, and think that for my situation it's a must-have. I was playing with a Fender Mustang 1 v2 as per Bob's recommendation and felt like this amp would give me everything I could possibly need, and at an affordable price. I'll definitely shop around some more, but I feel some-what comfortable that that amp will be the one.
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