[Action Scott]

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I used to teach guitar a long time ago. If you want to play hard rock/metal I say just buy the electric. It depends what you're goals are. If your goal is to become a great guitarist then you want to start with classical guitar, move to acoustic and then on to electric. If you just want to play heavy power chords, killer riff patterns and screech out the occasional solo then I see no problem with starting out with an electric. To be honest, the fact that they're easier to play may cause you to stick with it longer. So many people start out on an acoustic and a year later it's sitting in the corner with cobwebs all over it.

Out of the range of guitars you listed I'd choose the epiphone. One of my first ever guitars was an epiphone les paul copy. It was actually a pretty good guitar. Buy a little practice amp. My preferred amp is Fender but go with your budget. It's only a practice amp so the quality isn't that important.

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Thanks for all the help guys. I knew you could come through. I kind of like what he's saying here, about starting w/ the electric. I'm not looking to become a rock god and I'm a little old to be starting a band. My goals are basically to be able to sit around play a few of my favorite songs. And I agree about having some success early. Being able to play a couple riffs that I can recognize early would give me some confidence to keep going. I think I will start out w/ the electric and if I feel like I"m going to stick with it, maybe get a cheap acoustic at some point too.
Thanks again folks, sounds like the consensus for what I posted is the epiphone, but I will check into some of the other suggestions too.