Amp with Effects in it or PA with Pedalboard?

If you are mostly going to be using headphones, perhaps a stand-alone modeler? (Pod XT, V-AMP 2, VOX Tonelab ..) You can simply plug it into your home stereo system in addition to the headpones. Also, most of the new multi-effects processors have amp modeling as well (Zoom G2.1u etc.)

I would go with one of the modeling amps.

The Vox Valvetronix AD30 is very popular with many members here.

Vox AD30

I have tried this Vox amp and it was very good, but I liked this Behringer better.

Behringer V-Ampire LX210

This is my personal opinion, you should try both and see for yourself.

And then there is the very popular Line 6 amps.

Line 6 Spider II

I would look for an amp with lots of effects, but also an amp that comes with a footswitch to change between different presets. What good is a $250 amp if you have to spend another $200 on a footswitch? So look out for that.

That PA system is really best for a gigging musician for small clubs and coffeehouse type venues. If you like to sing it is something to consider. But most of the effects are for vocals, not guitar. And usually you can only use one effect. So you couldn't have chorus and delay on your guitar and at the same time reverb on your vocals.

You could also get a nice pedal like that Boss and run it through a nice super-clean solid-state amp. The Roland amps are known for getting excellent clean tones.

Roland Cube 30 with EFX

This looks like a nice amp with good effects.

But in the end, you need to go down and test drive a few different amps. Everybody has their own tastes when it comes to amp tone and effects. You want an amp that turns YOU on.

Some great advice above, and I agree that going for a single combo might be best. My personal opinion about the three amps above (pretty much the three main 'budgetprice' digital amps):

Line6 Spider series: by far the worst of the three. Espescially if you have worked with tube amps and know how an amp should respond you will be throroughly dissapointed. The dynamics are pretty hopeless, the clean is super sterile and the effects are quite cheesy and hard to modify. I dig lots of Line6 stuff but I find it hard to see anything good about the Spider series. Remember: this is my opinion so definitely do try it out yourself!

Behringer LX112: Unlike Wes I haven't had a chance to try the LX210 yet, instead I've extensively tested the older and smaller version. Being pretty well known with their V-amp modeling circuitry I tought I knew how the amp would sound. Boy was I wrong. I'm still not sure what the problem was but the amps didn't even respond remotely as well as one could expect and I could find no technical reason at all for it. Technical problems? Doubt it, it's mostly digital so it either works as it should or doesn't work at all. In any case, recently they released the bigger version, Wes' LX210. They took their sweet time releasing it so I can't help but wonder if their actually was some kind of error in the earlier version. If the new version works like I expected the old one to work it is a heck of a lot of value for the money. Personally I don't like the clean from Behringer's modeling very much but them more rock orientated sounds are very, very usefull. As most of their amps this one has a fairly complete I/O section and you can create/store/edit patches using their free and intuitive software, plus it comes with a footswitch. You can't get a more complete package then this.

Vox AD30: Vox' attempt to enter the entry-level modeling arena. A fairly simple and somewhat dissapointing effect section, combined with the lack of an FX loop, means this amp might not be ideal for those who use postgain effects a lot. The amp models are mostly excellent though, althought it takes more time to get to know each model then with the Behringer. The cleans and mildly overdriven sounds are, IMHO again, more warm, lush and convincing then those found in the Behringer (and my V-amp) but the Behringer gets the edge when things get more rocked-up. I/O are severely limited and the footpedal costs you an extra $50 or so. Definitely not the most complete of them, but I liked the amp models enough to get it.

So which to get? Tough one. It really depends on what guitar you have, what style of music you play, how your playing style is etc. Your best bet is to try them all and see for yourself. Remember modeling amps can be overwhelming at first and it is pretty hard to get a good impression in a few minutes. And if you are not sure you can always get both. I use the Vox and Behringer V-amp together in stereo and the results are quite satisfying.

I'm a bit of a newb, but I'll chime in... I have the PodXT Live, and have been happy with it. It has a headphone jack, does lots of effects, and allows for digital recording to a computer via usb. There are various opinions on the quality of the effects, but they are more than satisfactory for me. Note, I don't play for anyone but myself, and I have little experience with other effects.

Thanks for the replys guys.

I'm really leaning towards getting a multi-effects station/pedal board type thing. I've played through one of them that a friend had and I like that they have millions of presets for different kinds of music.

So, I'm wondering, what's a neutral sounding amp that I could run something like that through? I'd also like the amp to have headset output. I was thinking of going for the PA because obviously that would be VERY neutral sounding.

How do you think that the berringhers compare to the crates? I've tried crate amps before and liked them, that's why I ask.