What's a good price range for a performance guitar

First off, can you already play?

You'd likely need to go north of the 500 pound range (I guess that's about $700 in the states) to get one that won't need a lot of tweaking to make it nice. I have, however, run across some Ibanez "starter" type guitars that were very nice after an intonation adjustment, but pretty much all of them will need that anyway. Go to a store with a large variety and see what you like. There's a pretty big difference, IMO, in how Fender products play compared to Gibson. I find Gibson's easier to play, but still prefer Fender for sound. I have a nice American made Strat with a maple neck that is my absolute favorite.

you can get them on craigslist used for 100 something or a garage sale if your lucky