If you are relatively new to the world of electric guitars, you need to do a little research before you commit yourself to this or that model and blow your hard-earned money. It's better to learn from the experience of others before you go and buy something that you may come to regret later. Otherwise you may find out you've made a mistake when it's too late for a refund or a replacement.

For the last 50 years, the top electric guitars have been the Fender Stratocaster and Telecaster, and the Gibson Les Paul and SG. More recently the Ibanez RG series guitar kind of took over the heavy metal world. These guitars have a proven quality and sound known throughout the world.
 

Fender Stratocaster

Fenders in general have a 'bright' tone from the three single-coil pick-ups. The Strat has a balanced and crisp sound that's a little mellower than the Telecaster. Because of its popularity there is now a huge range of Stratocaster models to choose from and are further broken down by the country of manufacture, whether it is South Korea, Mexico or the U.S.

If you are looking for a good Stratocaster for a more reasonable price, you may also consider the Squier Stratocaster, which is modeled after the much more pricey Fender Stratocaster but is well within the average beginner's budget. The workmanship of this model is not completely standardized across all instruments, and sometimes the quality of the pick-ups and the hardware may not be quite first-rate, but those are aspects which can be easily replaced later at little cost.

The so-called Fat Strats usually have one Humbucking pick-up to go with the other single-coil pick-ups to give it a slightly "fatter" sound..
 

Fender Telecaster

The Fender Telecaster has an even brighter tone than the Strat. Using only two pick-ups (you have to pay attention, some models have single-coil and some have Humbuckers) can produce a twang that's great for country music, but can also create a hard driving sound for rock. As with the Strat, there are several models to choose from and Squier also makes a lower priced version.

Gibson Les Paul

Gibson has always been known for a smoother, mellower sound and the Les Paul has been around since 1952. The comparison between the Gibson Les Paul and the Fender Strat has been like the Camaro vs. Mustang battle that raged for years - both are great guitars, just with a different sound.

Gibson Les Paul guitars have two Humbucker pick-ups that have less interference and feedback than single coil pick-ups. Like the Fender models, Les Pauls come in several versions and Epiphone makes a "value" Les Paul similar to Squier models of Fender guitars.
 

Gibson SG

The Gibson SG started out as a streamlined version of the Les Paul, but it has established itself as a truly great guitar in its own right. Being lighter than the Les Paul it is best in jazz to blues to rock, not necessarily heavy metal. It starts with a smooth tone but can still really drive.

The Gibson SG has gotten a little pricey but, as above there is an Epiphone SG for a much better price. The pick-ups and the hardware on the Epiphone give away the trick, being of distinctly lesser quality. But, those are components that can always be upgraded later.
 

Ibanez RG series

For the past 20 years or so, the Ibanez RG has been the standard in hard rock and heavy metal. With its thinner neck and flatter fingerboard it's great for blazing riffs. They can have either two or three pick-ups, depending on the model and can create a raucous and vibrant sound made famous by such artists as Steve Vai.

No matter which of these five electric guitars you choose you simply can't go wrong. One or more may match up better with your style of play or music and there are artists who use more than one, but these are the best place to start for a beginning guitar player.