I have a Epiphone 1960's les Paul tribute plus which sells for under a 1000 $ ( chinees handmade but PU's and all the rest genuine Gibson hardware, not produced under license ), it sounds and plays great and in tests with the cheaper Gibson models it comes out superior to them. The finish is just amazing, only downside is the weight, 11 kilo's.

Another thing you can do if you want to go lower on budget is buying a Mexican Fender and upgrade that with a descend set of PU's and glue aluminium foil in the cavities and plectrum plate to eliminate the his and rumble.

best regards Herman