I would personally buy the Les Paul. Very warm rich sounds ,and are some of the best sounding guitars out there,however your ears are the ones you need to make happy so I would sample many types till you feel comfortable with the sound your looking for.I've learned from trial and error
The list of Les Paul players is MILES longer than the short list of Rics. There's a reason for that.
Now don't get me wrong the 4001 ROCKS!!!...but...the 6 stings I don't like so much. Too niche-y. [If that's a word. Which it isn't 'cause I made it up ]