I had somebody recommend me Avatar cabs. Anybody use them? What's the deal with speakers and stuff. Wattages and styles etc.

If you have the money, invest in an isolation cabinet. If not, then just about any cheap 1x12 cabinet will do. Heck, buy an empty one on Ebay or something. The speaker is what's really important. This might seem like a strange analogy, but you might think of speakers like pickups and make your decision accordingly. I'm a big fan of low wattage speakers, as they don't sound so stiff and they get a more open sound if you ask me. Thus far, my favorite speaker I've ever used is a $35 Weber. Darn you Celestion and Eminence for sucking up my speaker money for too long. Heh, what you might do is buy a 1x12 cabinet with a Celestion in it, sell the Celestion on Ebay to some ignorant teenager and then buy a $35 Weber and you'll be ahead financially. I'm not kidding; used Celestions go for obscene amounts. I just about crapped my pants when someone bought one of my "mint condition, broken in Celestion" speakers for more than it went for new.

Hmm, Weber, interesting. I've also heard about greenbacks as being good for this style of music, but those are celestion also right? What about Hellatone speakers?

I tend to think of Celestion along the lines of a big guitar manufacturer that begins with G and ends with ibson. Are they good guitars? Yes. Are they good guitars for the money? Not really. Are there better guitars for cheaper? Heck yes. Same thing goes with Celestions. The only Celestions that are really good are the expensive, top of the line ones. I haven't tried Hellatone speakers, so I can't comment there. And then there's the fun of finding a speaker that interacts well with your amp. This can be a sort of strange process and can take a while before you really find a speaker that is definitely "the one." It's sort of like finding a wife, or the best deodorant for you.

i think the cab does have a huge effect on the sound, as well as the speaker. i swapped out the stock Black Shadow in my Mesa Boogie Studio .22 with a Celestion V30, and the improvement was radical. i then built a custom cab about the same dimensions as the Boogie (so i could stack them) with 1/2 inch plywood, semi-open backed, and put in another V30. the difference between the combo speaker and the cab is HUGE. way more bottom and punch from the cab!!!! maybe i fluked out on dimension/design/materials, but it sounds great.
the combo sounds anemic in comparison, with the exact same speaker...

NCdan wrote: If you have the money, invest in an isolation cabinet.

The Rivera Silent Sister video is interesting

http://www.rivera.com/products/silentsister/silentsister.php

i think the cab does have a huge effect on the sound, as well as the speaker. i swapped out the stock Black Shadow in my Mesa Boogie Studio .22 with a Celestion V30, and the improvement was radical. i then built a custom cab about the same dimensions as the Boogie (so i could stack them) with 1/2 inch plywood, semi-open backed, and put in another V30. the difference between the combo speaker and the cab is HUGE. way more bottom and punch from the cab!!!! maybe i fluked out on dimension/design/materials, but it sounds great.
the combo sounds anemic in comparison, with the exact same speaker...

There's no doubt cabinet construction affects the sound projection and dispertion, BUT does it really sound any different to a microphone? Noticably different? I'd say mostly no. The only thing I've noticed on recordings is that different cabs offer different low end shape, but quite frankly, most amps have low controls, and if they are used properly, the low end shape shouldn't be a make it or break it thing. Just my two cents. I do believe in quality cabinets, but I use cheap ones all the time...