Having played guitar for over half my life, here's my advice:
Get the best quality guitar you can POSSIBLY afford. If you are learning, you will VERY quickly get discouraged by a guitar that will not PLAY in tune or STAY in tune. Who wants to play a guitar that makes noise instead of music? Who want to play a guitar that hurts your hands or has dead frets?
Fact: Most cheap guitars end up in a closet after a few months, never to be played again. I suspect it's far less likely to happen with a better guitar.
With a better guitar, you are more likely to play, and your practice will be more productive. You will get better faster. And as you improve, you will find that practice isn't work, and that playing guitar has now become an enjoyable pasttime.
How's your musical ear? If you have perfect pitch, a cheap guitar will drive you crazy. If you have a hard time hearing sharp or flat, and can't tune a guitar except with a digital tuner (with indicator lights to show flat and sharp), then intonation and tuning stability will be less important to you.
When buying a cheap guitar, don't worry about the brand at all. Fact is, most are "ghost built" by a huge megafacturer like Samick and they just put brand "A" on one and brand "B" on another.
So don't get hung up on whether or not Washburns are good (some are, some aren't) or even if Takamines are good (most are, some suck).
Guitars MUST be evaluated individually, without regard to brand or price. I've played some $3000+ Martins and Taylors that were not worth the money at all. I've also played some cheapos that sounded GREAT. I've played PRS electrics that were nowhere near what a guitar like that should be, and I've played $800 Epiphone Les Pauls that were TWICE as good as the $4000 Gibson Les Paul that it copies.
My Advice? BUY USED. You can get a much nicer guitar for the money if you buy a used one. Plus, most used guitars are older, and the wood has mellowed. A quality guitar improves with age, like fine wine. Check the price tag on a Pre-WW2 Martin and see how this affects desirability.
Some good finds? 70s Yamahas and other "Jap knock offs" from the 70s.
Above all, PLAY A BUNCH OF GUITARS. Buying a good guitar is a lot like dating. You are going to be marrying this thing, so take your time "test driving". Look down the neck from the bridge to make sure there's no warping. Check truss rod adjustment. Play every fret on every string to check for dead spots or fret buzz. Check the top and the inside for cracks. A good guitar should have NO visible glue on the inside. A good guitar is solid wood, with NO LAMINATES. The neck shape and nut width should compliment your hand size and finger length.
Oh and if you want to know what a fine guitar looks like, here's a link to show you. Olson guitars are the modern equivalent of a Stradivarius violin. The only other that come close imho is Charis Acoustic.
Here's some Olson pics:
http://www.olsonguitars.com/jumbo.html
Here's some Charis pics:
http://www.charisacoustic.com
I'd love to have one of these someday. But a used one is more expensive than a new one is!!!
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