Speaking of custom and metal guitars, I lust after Jack White's Triple Jet made by Randy Parsons. Custom 1912 Gretsch headstock, and a copper to so it will NEVER run out of power. Something like that. I'm thinking of having a similar imitation done of my Rick Liverpool. After I rob a series of banks.

Isaac Brock's custom Wicks guitar is pretty sick too;

Radical AC: can you give some examples of these lower-priced guitars? I am interested in looking into this.
This is kind of a hard question to answer as it all comes down to what you want out of your guitar. A certain type of construction? A brand name? Body style, pickup configuration, ect. You could get a
comparable Agile AL series from Rondo Music. A lot of people seem to have a thing for Danelectro's, cheap good guitars, but the way they play is completely different from a LP. I just saw Becky Black from The Pack AD shred up some of the most ridiculous blues riffs I have EVER seen using an old model LTD H series you could pick up on ebay for $200, lots of great crunchy tones and not muddy at all. (She did have a nice JVM Marshal combo, though) Personal preference; Schecter's C series has some great, decently priced guitars. Gretsch's solidbody electromatics sound great (I've seen the guitarist from Manchester Orchestra use them) Eastwood has some really reasonably priced funky and awesome guitars. I have a $200 and $2000 guitar, and use both. I'm sure a lot of the other people here would know a lot more examples of inexpensive quality.
I am at some point getting a custom-built 7-string for my Grindcore band, and I am certain I need a neckthrough, because of the durability.
If I were to get a 7 string it would definitely be a
Carvin DC747. Neck-thru, HSH w/ 5 way selector, and damn near custom everything else. (The scroll over pics they have on their site make me punch myself in the crotch)