i have a Musicmann 2 by 12" hybrid valve/solid state that is great for blues and grunge type sounds . i highly recommend them.
if you can get a Fender Twin ( original not re-issue or hybrid ) they are very useful as well for a real authentic guitar tone.

Bobbo no offense, but that is the longest "run on" sentence, I've ever read. I'm only saying that because it's kind of hard to read your post. Try a period now and again.

As far as amps...I like to compare amps to icecream.
"What are you talking about StevenColbert?"
Here's what I mean Nation.
Does Mint chocolate chip taste like Butter pecan? NO
Will a Marshall JCM800 sound like a Roland JC120? NO
O.K. you get the point.

Now, lets say you goto a recording studio and all they have are two amps to choice from. It's alot like going out to get icecream and all they have are two choices. And if the guy across the street sells icecream, but has 20 different flavors to choose from. Were are you going?
Same thing across the street with the other guys recording studio. He has 12 choices of different amp sounds, from metal, to rock, to country, to rhythm and blues, and jazz, as well as grunge. Again, where are you going?

IMO it makes more sence to buy an amp for specific uses. Obviously if you do ALL country music (not that you do), you would not want the same amp sellection as if you were doing mostly say, harder rock and/ or heavy metal. Starting with a Marshall, or Mesa, or Hughes & Kettner is a good start for heavier types of music. You might want as many as 4 , or 5 or more amps, just for getting certain rock and metal guitar tones.
My point is, you need flavors. Not just 1 amp on several different settings.

And alot like icecream, NOBODY likes that same flavor as the next guy. And no matter HOW good the amp sounds or the icecream taste. We all get tired of the same "flavors" everday on every track.

Lastly to try an answer your question better. IMO listen to your favorite guitar albums of all time. If you don't already know what "his" (the guy playing the guitar sound you would like) favorite amp is, do a google search or read some articles on the guy.
For instance...Everybody and their bother knows Satriani plays Peavey (that's another post). As well as that Zakk Wylde play EMG's on a LesPaul through a Marshall stack. And Alex Lifeson plays Hughes & Kettner. These are just to name a few.
Then, narrow it down to your favorite 3 or 4 choices. And either go demo the amp(s) at the local music store, or just buy the one you want the most.

Like Steven sez, it's ALL about different flava's!

A couple of different thoughts...

If you're trying to be all things to all gut players, get ready... you're going to spend an absolute fortune getting a couple dozen amps... then you gotta have a place to store em' all!

Most guitarists have an amp. Most good guitarists have somewhere between 2 and 20. What I've experienced is that they like to bring their own.

Personally, I've opted for only getting a couple of choice amps... maybe three or at the most four. These are for the guy who has a clunker, or a pro who's looking for a different sound that he can't get with the rig he brought.

An option you can/should look into... either a local music store or back-line rental outfit near you.

The list in my line up is a SMALL Marshal JCM2000 and a 65 Twin. The third amp I'd like to snag is either going to be an AC30 or a Mesa Recto'.

HTH,
Max

MadMax wrote: The list in my line up is a SMALL Marshal JCM2000 and a 65 Twin. The third amp I'd like to snag is either going to be an AC30 or a Mesa Recto'.

That's a good list if you're trying to cover most rock recording situations.

Ice Cream?

Flavas?

Oh...now I get it.

So, Bobbo, what about those 'old Fender this and thats' dont you like? You list Southern Rock and Rock as styles and you think they dont get those noises out of old Twins, old Deluxes, tweed Supers.....?

And this Indie kinda stuff is all about jangly backing guitars that kinda ramp up to heavier parts... A Twin with the RIGHT pedal does just that.

I have access to a LOT of amps and heres a list that'll basically get you any sound on the planet.....provided you have a player who can get the sounds out of whatever piece of wood hes(shes) wankin on............

Early 70's Twin (the mods are secret!)

Fender Blues Jr. (the best cross between Fender and Vox)

Gibson GoldTone (nothing should sound this good)

JCM800 with Mullards (de crunch boss de crunch)

Early 70's 100watt Marshall SuperLead (you will crap yer pants at the first hit)

The 2nd Seymour Duncan Convertible (godfather of boutique amps)

Late 60's Bassman Head (rectum fryer)

1970 Princeton Reverb (sweet and innocent....yeah....right)

Carr Hammerhead (for the idiots who cant remember what settings they used last night...and a seriously crunchy thingy)

Bogner Metropolis (a monster little tone dogg of an amp )

Vox Cambridge (1967 version, they just put big ole one-ended transistors in the tube chassis for this thing....nothing....NOTHING sounds like this)

The REX ( 4 watts of evil tone....gold plate chassis....slip and slide with the gods)

Fender Blues Deville (kind of a tough one to work on stage but as a set and forget studio amp this ones really happening...Yellow jackets on the tubes make this an EL84 monster)

Lets not forget how we actually get these special tones...

Plywood Marshall cabs...one has 25 watters...original...the other 30 watts specials... (did I underline the difference in the construction????)

An original, low mileage, excessively built Dallas Arbitter 4-12 cabinet. (this thing has the gauss of each speaker tagged on each one in the box....and the REAL impedance.....the Blues Jr through this thing is something to behold)

The Harvey Gurlitz 2-10" Bass Tricks cabinet. (park a truck on it....400 watt EV's inside...B15 on the outside....NEED BASS??? ...makes a dandy grunge guitar cabinet for chunking and stuff...these are fast fukin speaks)

Hey I only have a little home studio ...and this isnt ALL of the junk I can assemble for guitar wankers...but usually its enough...

Lets also not discount properly done outboard stuff..When pedals are really up to snuff...ie:true bypass,highend components...they can really do a lot of great things towards getting that 'special' sound. Any of the Keeley mods are good as well as many other highend pedal builders' stuff. The price you pay for an excellent selection of specialty pedals as opposed to several highend amps is significantly lower. A great sounding amp with just a wire into it can be an amazing basic rig for any set of outboard guitar gear and will save you much time and effort in achieving that great sound quickly and completely. Nothing does this better than a well tuned properly maintained Twin Reverb. Nothing. Look at the upperend studios' equipment list under amps....Always a twin. Always.

For live performances,Im ALWAYS gonna grab my JCM800 2205 that Ive been using since 87, be as it may,,,its taken many yrs of tube swapping to find the tone/distortion/overdrive that I prefer.
Ive recently purchased a Crate V32 Palomino,,,30 watts of class A tone,,works great in the studio,but Im still in the process of finding what tube fits my liking.
It has a fantastic clean tone,,better than my Fender Twin.
As far the distortion channel on the V32,I have found that I have to use my Marshall Power Brake to get the tone Im looking for without pushing the DBs way high.
Ive used a Roland Blues Cube for a practice/rehearsal amp for many yrs,I have one that I use at rehearsals,and one in my studio,with that said,,,I finally plugged both Roland Blues Cube 30 watters together and I must say,that with 2 of them slaved together,they are the best solid state sounding amps Ive ever heard,,crunch comming out the yang-yang,with a the clean channels that sound just as good as my Fender twin.