GET A POD! Even if you don't know what it is. They're invaluable for tracking, and come in handy when you've got to get your amp fixed (run it through your stereo).
The POD is an amp modeler. It makes a guitar signal sound as if it's already been through one of 16 or 32 popular amplifiers. And all the settings are tweakable.
Remember, the POD does this to the signal. What your amp does to that signal may change the sound a bit (but you'll still appreciate the different crunches, cleans, reverbs, choruses, etc...)