I've upgraded my gear over the years.  I started with a little Marshal 30GFX, plugged straight in.  Pretty limited on the effects, but it really gave me a good start.  Then Larry picked me up Line6 PotXT for Xmas one year.   He'd been boasting his for a while.  It made all the difference in the world. If you haven't got to play with one of these, I'd suggest a trip to your local Guitar Center and check it out.
Last year I took the plunge and upgraded the Marshal to the gear below.  A Crate GT200H amp.  Three channels for solo, rhythm and clean tones.  However, with the PodXT, it stays pretty much on clean.  The cabinet is a B52 LG412V Stealth sporting four 100 watt 12" subs.  The Pods  are piped thru a PreSonus Firepod Recording Interface where we can record 8 channels of digital audio mixed directly on the computer (MORE PICS). 
Additionally, I have the Line6 Shortboard for the PodXT for additional control

Crate GT200H	B52 LG-412V	PodXT	PreSonus Firepod	Line6 Shortboard

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