well, the first thing I look for is that it is loud. Louder than anything else so that if I ever can't hear myself over what or whoever I'm playing with , I can turn the volume up.
second, the gain channel is very important too. The more distorted it sounds the better, 'cause then you shouldn't need a distortion pedal to make it even more noisy. Though you might still have to get one if you can't get the clean channel to distort.
Mostly though, I prefer to think lucidly before I buy something. And I've bought two Roland Micro Cubes. One for me, and one for a buddy who kept asking to buy my Micro Cube. Both used.
The older model usually can be found (if you can find one) for about $60-80 used. The new Roland Micro Cube RX is the replacement and well worth it, though brand new at $180 CAD. I don't find the Cube Street compares to the Micro Cubes.
Both Micro Cubes have a line out & line in . And though they don't mention it, these line-outs can be plugged into another amp, mixing board, PA or computer. If I remember correctly, guitarist Pete Anderson uses it for recordings, but I'd have to check Harmony Central to verify that.
Best of all, both the new & old models can run on batteries, giving you up to 13 hours of playing time. Which would be handy if you're stranded during a flood.
Edited by debrewguy - September 29 2009 at 12:36