Mick, as someone who has owned many fine/expensive and cheap/cheap guitars over the years, as well as many that fall somewhere in the middle, let me offer you one well-learned piece of advice:

I am a gear JUNKIE. I will even pick up and play instruments I have NO idea how to play at all. When, in times past, I have had a goodly amount of money to spend, I did what you just described being ready to do... I RAN and tried the "name brand", expensive guitars, because they're supposed to be the "good ones".

Baloney. Stuff and nonsense. Bosh, balderdash and hooey.

Go, take your time (as some have suggested), play LOTS of different guitars (as others have suggested), and LISTEN with your ears and heart and NOT with your wallet. DON'T listen to the whispers of the price tags, either... price tags on guitars can lie like cheap rugs.

I know you must have a favorite song or piece of some music that you LOVE to play... what I do is try out a guitar with THAT favorite piece of music... if the guitar plays "with me", indeed, even seems to play itself FOR me, then I know I am on the right track, Martin be hanged.

I've busked for years; in fact, I made my bones as a performer by earning a reputation on the streets BEFORE hitting the coffeehouse and bar circuit for gigs. I say that to say this: there have been many, many times that I have been so broke as to need to sell all my gear (like recently, almost). The times in the past few years that I HAVE had enough money to buy a guitar have still been times of VERY little money, so I walked into a store that I know has decent used guitars, played some till one of them "played with me", and then bought the one that was the best combination of playability and price.

Do that. Keep looking until you either find the ONE that blows you away, that you MUST have at your last dollar's expense, or till you find the one that plays the way you want it to and makes sense financially as well.

Best of luck in your search. My long-time writing, performing and busking guitar was a 1970s Japanese dreadnought under the Lyle brand. Sounded great, played well, took a beating and lasted for years till the neck finally gave out. Just goes to show you might find YOUR guitar who-knows-where.