Getting in a bit late on this one, but got some advices. It's all about finding the guitar that FEELS right above anything else. I seeked and seeked for ages, until I found a used Gibby LP Standard that just felt right. I'd look into some of the bit more expensive stuff. Not to be a snob, but if you go for something too cheap, you might wanna upgrade in a few years again.
It's the same deal with the amp. I'm also looking for a new Marshall head atm, have owned JCM 800 and JCM 2000, but still haven't found the deal. There's no question though that you should seek for an all tube amp IMO. Check out the JVM series from Marshall too, considering getting one of these.