[Midnight Rider]

As far as your question of "Strat" vs. "Les Paul"...I have an
Epiphone Les Paul and love it....excellent quality......my understanding is that Les Paul has more "Sustain" and "Warmth", whereas the Strat has more "Twang".....Both are used plenty for Rock...I think some of the Strats come with a couple extra frets....or with Jumbo frets......I'm so curious...I'm going to try one out TOMORROW! It seems the most important advice I hear....is to go "try it out for awhile and see how it fits".... good luck.....I'm sure you'll enjoy whatever choice you make....