Well,I am biased towards Fender because I have played them for nearly 50 years.

Squier Strat Package comes with a little practise amp,but as always,please,please go to
a store and try it,or get the salesman to demo it for you,it's the only way to see if it
comes anywhere what you need.

Depending what sort of stuff you want to play,an Epiphone Les Paul is not a bad buy,but
it is a bit more expensive,and doesn't come with an amp.

You could always consider a used instrument but to be honest,for the price, a Squier Package
is hard to beat.

Go to the store and have a look,you don't have to buy anything you don't like.

Good hunting

Alan