Need amp for metal... vox, marshall, other?

[redquiltlooksnice]

What's up everyone. I'm new here. I just got an Epiphone les paul classic and I need a good amp for under $500. I mainly play metal. I don't play live. I've got a modelling processor so I don't need any amp with a bunch of effects. I'm currently using a borrowed Line 6 50 watt combo. I've been looking at marshall and vox, but I don't much about amps.

Thanks for the advice.

P.S. What's a tube amp?

[Monster]

Whats a tube amp?
Assuming you're not just yanking my chain, a tube amp is an amp where the devices that make the electric signal more powerful (ultimately enough to move the speaker cone and emit a loud noise) are enclosed in (usually) special glass bottles that have most of the air evacuated from them. This is a fairly antique technology and has been abandoned by most other electronic devices (you'll rarely find tubes in TVs, stereos, etc. any more). They happen to have characteristics that make them pretty ideal for amplifying guitar sounds and distort in pleasing ways.
Before we start with a bunch of suggestions about which amp you should buy, I'd suggest you go to your local music store and ask them to show you the differences between solid state and tube amps. Have them play through them, and you play through a couple as well.
I would suggest you get a small reliable, inexpensive solid state amp that you can play your processor through to start if you're just playing at home by yourself, until you've read more and played through enough amps to have an idea what you're looking for. DON'T buy a big 150 watt amp with multiple speakers you can barely move around the house.
Read these articles:
Harmony Central®: Avoiding Gear Acquisition Syndrome
Hope that helps.

[Rohan B Cool]

You should look at the VOX AD50VT. Although it's not a tube amp (it's a modelling amp) it plays metal very well. You should be able to get one for less than $500; I currently own one, and I absolutely love it for gigging and playing at home. I believe it's similar to the Line 6 series?

[grozza]

Peavey 5150 or 6505 hands down

[needlespauls]

If you're on a smaller amp budget, the new Vox AD30VT XL (30 watt 1x12 combo)is SICK! or the AD50VT2 XL (50 watts 2x12 combo). If you want to go tube (recommended), the Krank Rev Jr. half stack is GREAT!!! Otherwise, any tube amp with an overdrive pedal can do the job. Hell, I just recorded a monster metal tone with my 5 watt Class A tube combo with a Visual Sound RT808 overdrive pedal. SICK!!