We same to get the same requests at this site for this. It's like a broken record (and if you are too young to know what THAT means, sorry!).
There are so many variables and tastes, you might try to do a search on the site...

i didnt mean to repeat the same question that you have obviously heard a million times. i just thought it might be a little helpful to anyone willing to throw their opinion into the ring for them to know what my specific needs are.

just trying to be thorough.....

http://recording.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=40909

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$500.00> Fender Blues Junior, Fender Super Champ,
$350.00> What ever you find used.

Well, your question is just too general:
"From pure clean to all out heavy distortion" is simply open to too many interpretations. I'm sure that over the next 24 hours there will be plenty of suggestions from people who have their own take on that.
You might indicate a little more detail to what sounds that you are striving to achieve...

i like my 65 fender champ with an 808 overdrive pedal in front. yummie tone.

song4gabriel

is there any possible way you could upload a clip or something of your tone

my reccomendation would be to find a mesa studio .22 or Kaliber .22

awesome, awesome ,awesome tube tone in an easy to record amp. they sound super creamy, and you can drive em hard as hell without being too loud.

I love the small Mesa amps too, but find they will get more and more driven as the tubes get hotter. I know a lot of guys run the Studio 22 or 22 Calibers upside down to help the heat dissipate. I have an old Mesa SOB that I used live for years, and I ended up mounting a quiet 5" fan to keep the tubes cooler. I connected it to the power switch so if the amp was on, so was the fan, it did wonders to stablize the tone over the course of a 4 hour gig.

If you can find a small Mesa, or an old Princeton, for $350-$500, go for it. The old Champs are also very cool, BTW. Marshall made a little 15watt that's been used on thousands of studio tracks.

I have also heard some mighty fine newer amps. Don't be afraid to try a Vox Valvetronix if you find one.

A lot of it comes down to your taste and technique, along with what guitar you use with it. This is one of those things you'll have to get your hands on one, plug in your guitar(s) and see if you like it.

I might be a bit late here, but if you're using it solely for recording, I'd think about getting a line 6 POD. I've used them for recording, and loved the tones I got. You can't beat the convenience and the tones are suprisingly good, especially for a tube snob like myself.