Hi Ted, Guitars are such a personal item. I know colleagues who are besoted with some brands ,whereas myself I am not impressed with them...I have given this advice before but I think the best bet is to set your price range and then go to a decent instrument store and play several guitars, eliminating as you go, you may be left with just a couple that you really like and then based on playability, price etc you can make your decision.
Even some top end guitars are not set up well, I had a friend who bought a Les Paul, the set up was gastly and after 3 visits back to the dealer was no better a mile off even factory settings ...In the end he pleaded with me to set it up for him....
Fenderphil