I would suggest going to a music store that sells a wide variety of brands and play around with em plugged in to an amp. It's too hard to figure it out without putting your hands on it and playing it.
Shecters are sweet guitars. The string through body design really puts out long sustained notes when you want them. You definitely want to try a 7 string before you buy, though it is nice to have that extra bass string on there for that mean crunch when you want it without having to retune your axe.
You might want to save just a little more and check out some PRS guitars. Tone for days but they are a little pricey but you could probably get a deal on a used one. But you need to find the right model for you and the tone you want.
Those Epphone Les Paul's sound pretty sweet.
This guy's got a Epiphone Les Paul Studio Goth with a Floyd Rose Tremelo killer tone!