My Axe(that means guitar, posers)

[Brysenjg]

If you're going to be playing metal..or anything with a heavy use distortion I would recommend a solid state amp.

If you were to use a tube amp for metal, you would absolutely need a distortion pedal. They aren't known for the use of heavy distortion. They are known for their warm, full bodied clean sound and natural break up as you turn it up. (I'm not suggesting you can't use a tube amp for metal, but I wouldn't recommend it.)

As far as brand of amp, I would recommend Marshall or Fender. There is the Marshall Class 5..nice little practice amp. They do make hybrids mix of tube/solid state as well (tube circuitry complemented with digital modeling and effects), check out the Super Champ XD by Fender. Extremely popular, versatile and affordable.

With regards to your guitar it sounds like it should be professionally set up. What gauge strings do you use? What frets are the strings buzzing on? How worn down are the frets? There could be a number of factors contributing to buzzing. Of all things it sounds like it may need a truss rod adjustment. But without actually seeing it, I couldn't say for sure. I'm building my guitar at the moment. I had a Gibson ES 335 for a while, and a Les Paul w/p90s..I always find myself going back to my MIA Fender Strat though. Something about single coil pickups just sounds right to me vs humbuckers.