advice sought -- what guitar to buy?

Now that I've been going to open mic nights (see here), I have renewed interest in getting another guitar. Right now I have two guitars:

A dreadnaught style Yamaha that I got 35-or-so years ago. It's got a good sound.

A 3/4 (I think) size Taylor. A GS-mini. We bought it for Sharon when she was taking lessons. She lost interest so I kept the guitar. It's got a really bright sound.

These are both acoustic, and I've been wanting an electric -- probably a Fender Strat or Tele (or something based on one of those designs. I love the glassy sound of a Strat. I've actually wanted an electric guitar for a long time, but just never really wanted to pay the price for one. Now with my doing open mics -- and fantasizing about memorializing some of my songs on CD -- the time may have come.

But now the question. What to buy? How to go about looking? Yeah, that's two questions. Sue me.

Amazon has some low-cost Strat-style guitars. And I found (quite by accident, believe it or not), a video review of "the cheapest electric guitar on Amazon." Spoiler: Apparently it's a decent guitar, though not great. A reasonably good buy for the price. And I found some low-end guitars on Amazon that seem to get good reviews.

On the other hand, there's a Sam Ash near me. Maybe I should go there (or to a Guitar Center) and look at used guitars. That way I can sit down and feel an instrument before spending my money. But I'd end up spending more. Yes, I know you get what you pay for -- but that's not always true. I also am not really experienced enough to know for sure what to look for.

So I ask my reader: What are your thoughts? Amazon cheapo, or used from a store? Any other related thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks!