Originally Posted by mr dave

i'm a big fan of pawn shops but you have to be careful. the vast majority are just trying to make a dollar and will fill your ears with as much crap as they can to get you to open your wallet. if you don't know what you're looking for (and checking out) then you can get ripped off pretty harshly.

if you're going to go through pawn shops get a friend who knows how to play to tag along to double check gear for you. where you already mention not caring that much about tone at this point and just want something to learn on pay close attention to the straightness of the neck and the tuning pegs. nothing is more annoying than a guitar that doesn't stay in tune.

now that you mention wanting an amp as well i'd be leaning towards the starter kits like Thrice mentions. you'll need to save up a little more as they're closer to $300 but whatever. you get a decent learner guitar, a practice amp, and usually a gig bag too. most practice amps are about $100-150 anyway, my personal favourite is the peavey rage.