For me the neck is paramount, I like fat necks, I have big hands and they cramp up playing on skinny necks. Steve Vai, on the other hand, loves skinney necks, but he's weird! So find a neck your hands feel comfy with. Also, I like heavy guitars, they sustain for ages, Angus Young, on the other hand, likes light guitars, but he's only 3'4" tall :) So find a weight and a neck you're happy with. Expensive guitars are expensive because they use expensive woods and expensive components, but mostly they are expensive because of the name written on the headstock! Any, well almost any, guitar can be set up by a semi competant luthier to play well, true the components might break, like the person above with the dodgy pick up. But for learning get a cheap and cheerful guitar that feels good in your hand, if you enjoy playing you will pretty quickly know what you want and can start saving your pennies to get one. But if guitar is not the thing for you then a cheap guitar with a good setup won't bankrupt you :)