Can you recommend a good electric guitar for me?

I'm an aspiring guitarist who's starting to move beyond beginner territory. I currently own a strat knock-off but would like to eventually get something better. Can anybody recommend me a good choice of guitar for an affordable price? Something good for classic rock, hard rock, and heavy metal (with the heaviest being power metal) A guitar with a good clean tone that also responds well to distortion? Thanks a bunch!