For me it was the mid 80s and all my favorite guitarists were sporting Jacksons on Mtv. The fact that Jeff Beck was sporting one too didn't hurt either. I think it was the cover of the Wired album from Beck that put the idea in my mind that I had to have one. $2000.00 is a lot of money save up...
You can go in deep with recording equipment, I would recommend a simple 4-8 track recorder. You should check out Sweetwater or Guitar Center for a recorder and get started.
I've laid down a lot of tracks I thought were hot and then cringed the whole time they were being played back. You got to hear yourself play if you want to be good, or to put it a different way, you have to hear what your audience is hearing. And after you're done listening you need to edit your...