Fender start vs epiphone les paul?

im gonna ume that the LP has 2 humbuckers. i personally prefer LPs to Strats, mainly cuz i prefer humbuckers to single coil, but its all personal opinion. a LPs bottom pickup has a very thick, chunky sound and would be good for power chords. the bottom pickup gives a very creamy sound and is better if you want a smooth lead sound. i don't play strats that often, but their pickups are SC which give it a losser, more smooth feel. the bottom pickup tends to be good, but i havent played one in a while. like i said though, its all personal opinion, so go to a guitar store and compare. see how the bodys feel in comparison, and plug them into the same amp without changing any settings and compare each pickup that way. what you could do is get a Strat with a humbucker bridge pickup or get a LP and put a P-90 (gibson single coil) pickup at the neck postion. hope i helped