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False choice Dan, the Beach Boys, the Who and even the Kinks were better than the Stones. They made a big splash in the sixties and have toured decade after decade but their best songs aren't really of Beatle status or as numerous.

What you may be missing is that barre chord songs should be pitched around the middle of the guitar and when you're making them you should find a way to 'bounce' from change to change. The idea should be not to hold a static barre chord with a single vice like hold.

A good barre chord funker is 'Sexbomb' you can vamp it as a simple D to A funky shuffle but a quick dose of E makes it zing (clean sound, roll off the treble).

I'm also working on 'All Day And All OF The Night' but have found the Chordie versions to be over-simplified. It's F-shape barre up and down the neck F>G G>F A#. The trick is in strumming at the right point in the move and loosening the barre when you can. Will post more when I have the chorus figured (been watching alot of black and white Kinks videos on You Tube, it's hard though - camera is nearly always on Ray).

Generally I'd say packs are pretty rubbish but up near me a shop is doing an Ibanez paired with a Fat Rat amp which is a great pairing, so it depends. Look for a shop doing a non-big name amp and guitar deal rather than the usual Fender packs.

First time I've hear of this gizmo;

http://www.stagebeat.co.uk/index.php?page_id=30001

Depends what kinda harmonica player Boot, some of the Blues and Ska guys play through a dirty distorting amp so the can get an in-yer-face nasty harmonica sound. I seem to remember Fender Champ's being one of their favourites....?

How about this 'Whole Wide World' by Wreckless Eric, it's an old punk song and works well on acoustic and electric. Only two chords, so the tension comes from how you strum; tickling the top strings on the verses and then letting rip on the chorus, you could even put a fuzz pedal in there, leave it off on the verse and then whammy it in for the chorus riff.

Hi NZ, metronomes vary from simple clicks (saw one last month that actually went in-ear, great for marching bands!) to what are basicaly drum machines for beginners. Roland do Dr.Beat in several incarnations I think the DB-90 sounds good  on paper as it has various tempos and drum patterns but doesn't put the onus on you to program it. Having played along to the drum loops in GarageBand (free with any Mac) I can say having real rock/pop rhythmns makes a real difference, it just doesn't do 3/4 waltztime as far as I can tell.

Do continue renting bob, as you get better at playing you'll become more demanding or the sound and feel of guitar you want to buy. You'll also develop a list of niggles that you'll want to rid of on your own instrument. You'll also feel more confident in the guitar shop and take more time to sit down and play before settling on any one guitar (everyone's fingers turn to rubber in guitar shops of course!). I reckon as a rule of thumb under £400 ($220) is a good price start in.

OK, first off switch to the neck pickup, early jazz guitars only had one pickup and it was mounted high, giving a warm tone. On the amp drop any distortion gain/overdrive and turn tone up full (very country). Next drop the guitar tone control to a mid position, now roll off the guitar volume control until you get a 'flat' jazz tone, you may need to work the tone down some more to find the sweet spot.

Getting the exact same tone as an archtop requires a body cavity though, there's a little extra added by 335s and such that comes from the f-holes and body.