Fender Blues Jr. - Beautiful cleans. Tons of power, more than you'll ever need for most gigs and certainly at home.
Vox AC10C1 - Same qualities as the Junior, but more British flavor.
Blackstar HT5R - Beautiful cleans and a pretty good distortion channel at more manageable levels. Most 5 watters don't have any clean headroom - this amp does.
The Fender Champion series have a really nice clean tone. SS, but doesn't sound overly digital. I have a Fender Frontman 25R I just picked up for $40 and I'm thrilled with the cleans. I played through the Champion stuff last weekend and the 40 may deliver what you want. A LOT of volume for a SS amp, great clean channel and the ability to switch to other modeling options on a 2nd channel.
The Super Champ X2 is a step up from the Champion stuff IMO, but not by as much as you would think and at more than 2x the price.
There is a lot of options at your price point. Good luck and take your time. Beware of "dark " sounding tube amps. No way to add sparkle without putting a pedal or modeler in front.
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Roy
Ibanez, Recording King, Gretsch, Martin
G&L, Squier, Orange (x 2),
Bugera, JBL, Soundcraft
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