Here's a WAY low-cost solution. At least a partial solution.
Get a Vox Amplug headphone amp. There's a classic AC30 version, vintage version, metal version, etc. Choose the one you like. Plug guitar into Amplug input, plug Amplug output into your recording interface. You get an excellent Vox amp sound, volume gain and tone control. EXCELLENT for recording a basic clean or overdriven guitar sound.
It's not infinitely flexible, each Amplug is modeled on only one particular Vox AC30 style or sound, but it's an amazing way to get a guaranteed beautiful Vox amp sound -- clean or with as much gain/distortion as you like -- into your recorder.
For wide variety of amp models/basic sounds, buy several of the Amplug models. There's even a model for bass guitar.
http://www.voxamps.com/amplug/