Awesome a guitar thread!
I’ve been playing for around 12 years now mostly power metal and the like and a plethora of people (many of them strangers) have said I could play for a living so there’s that I guess.
I’ve got 5 guitars but only really play my godin freeway classic that is in desperate need of repair. Other guitars are all various acoustics: some shitty yamaha, 12 string epiphone, dobro, and a hollow body made by my uncle’s friend. Amp is a peavy vypyr 75 with the sanpera 2 footswitch I use mostly just for the looper. Definitely looking forward to some upgrades in the next year or so.
I’m mostly self taught other than reading this book (and only half reading it really, just rote memorization on the scale forms and such):
It’s a solid start, but the CAGED system is fairly constraining since it teaches you in “boxes” rather than really letting you fluidly move around the fretboard. So what I plan on learning from is the “guitar super system” (horrible name i know) from the music is win guy so I can really understand theory.
I’ve got a Paul Gilbert song almost down (Buckethead’s teacher if you didn’t know) so never say something is impossible 
@Zavar you want warmer, fuller sound or a more twangy sound? Generally speaking, a humbucker will deliver the fuller sound while single coils will give you the twang. The most important thing you can do is go into a store and see how the guitars feel. Different neck profiles have a huge impact on your playing. I like thinner necks, but many enjoy the fatter ones like you’ll find on a les paul. Cleans will come from the amp, Fender cleans are legendary. Distortion can be either from amp or pedals depending on what specific type of sound you’re going for.