EPTTo the OP: Since you're just starting, you don't want to spend too much, because if you decide you don't like playing guitar in a couple months, you don't want to be down like a thousand dollars. So you'd think that would mean that you should go to Guitar Center and buy a Squier and a shitty solid state 8" combo amp. But it can actually be a better idea to spend more money on USED gear, because you'll end up with better gear, and if you know what you're doing, you can sell it later for pretty much the same price that you bought it for. The problem is that you don't know what you're doing, and until you've been playing for a while and actually know what you're looking for in a guitar (this will probably take a while), then the best you can do is go to a guitar shop, play some guitars, and buy the cheapest one that you can find, that you also like the feel and sound of. Same goes for an amp. If you limit yourself to like $500 for the amp and guitar combined, that will leave you $1500 to spend later when you actually know what kind of gear you're looking for. And $1500 can be quite a bit on the used market.
I should add that you should do a search on Harmony Central. This question gets asked like 50 times per day over there.
I should also add that if you do decide to buy a Squier new and not used, do yourself a huge favor and just get a Japanese or Mexican Strat used on ebay. They're far, far superior to American Squiers, and they're consequently worth far more if you want to turn around and sell it.
Also to the guy who suggested you go to a "real" guitar site like Ultimate Guitar....Don't go to Ultimate Guitar. It's full of 13 year olds who are searching for the latest Linkin Park tab and don't really care about guitar or music in general.
