Hi all, long time reader, first time poster. I have been playing all my life. I consider myself a pretty damn good campfire player because I'm always the guy that busts out and starts playing/singing. Usually it ends up with a lot of people having a good time. But lately I am not satisfied just playing my acoustic all the time. I have not had an electric for 15 years although I have played many in that time.

Soooo, I am eyeing a PRS semi-hollow w/humbuckers or solid body. My big problem is I have NO earthly idea where to start on amps or effects. I live in a condo so noise is an issue usually so here are some requirements I have:

Must sound good at low and hi volumes
Would like to not cover up the natural sound of the guitar
Would like to have effects to create many sounds so I can play with others in a band-like setup
Would like to be able to put on headphones and play to music or just jam (remember the original Rockman???)

My big concern is what amp is most appropriate and what would be a good set of effects to start with?

Rackmount or pedals? or both?

Music I love to play: Rush, Alice in Chains, Eagles, Beatles, Neil Young, CSN (Y) too, Judas Priest, Metallica, Janes Addiction, FOO FIGHTERS (capitalized cause they rock) etc... you get the jist. As you can see I like a lot of different music. Canned Heat, Mott the Hoople, Styx, Kansas (seeing them 10th row next week), shall I go on?

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks all,

Evan