1. Fender Standard Stratocaster HSS The Fender Stratocaster HSS is a versatile, well made, stylish and affordable. You can usually find them new for less than $500. The ‘HSS’ designates that this model Stratocaster has a humbucker in the bridge position and two single coil pickups in the middle and neck position. This configuration is going to give you a lot of versatility. The humbucker in the bridge is going to allow you to crank the distortion for metal tones that you would not be able to get in a typical Stratocaster, while the two single coil pickups let you dial in the classic Fender clean tones. There is a huge market for the Fender Stratocaster and they hold their value well. They also come in a large variety of colors. The contoured necks make them easy to learn on for new guitarists. From a value standpoint, the Fender Standard Stratocaster is arguably one of the best guitars you can buy. 2. Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro For someone who...
