All good advice. I'm not sure, though, about the point someone made that feel is less important than sound. I think they both matter a lot and its worth looking until you find something that you like both the feel of and the sound of. I have a Yamaha knock-off of a Stratocaster that bought mail-order; it sounds ok, but I have never really liked the way it's fret-board feels. And every time I play a real Strat I discover how much difference feels makes, both to my limited abilities to play and to my not-so-limited enjoyment from playing.