I used to have Strat, but got rid of it and concentrated on acoustic. However, I've always been partial old Telecasters; they're just a straight, no-frills workhorse of a guitar. It depends to some extent on what you music want to play, but Tele's are pretty versatile. I know some people are Fender fans and some are Gibson fans. One thing you might keep in mind is how easy will it be to sell if you decide you want something else. Strats, Tele's, Les Pauls, ES-335s, etrc. are all pretty easy. You can probably get a better buy on a second hand Fender than a Gibson though.