The tone of an electric guitar usually depends on the body construction, type of wood and the kind of pick-ups being used.
Solid bodied guitars may be the most popular guitars today but there was a time when the hollowed bodied guitar was all the guitarist had.

Hollowed bodied electric guitars came out of the acoustic F-shaped guitars. Guitarists used to put a pick-up on the body to amplify the guitar. 
From the 1950s onwards technicians such as Leo Fender and guitarists like Les Paul started experimenting with guitar construction with the aim to develop a solid bodied guitar. Out of these experiments came the Les Paul guitar, the Telecaster and the Stratocaster. All three guitarmodels are still popular today and use a solid piece of wood as main guitarbody.

The Hollowed bodied guitar may be less popular today, but it is still around in its various shapes. The main difference in sound is: A mellower tone compared to a solid bodied guitar. If you have never used a hollow bodied guitar you will notice the difference in sound and feel: With their bigger body they may feel like a standard acoustic guitar, the tone may be less focused (although this will depend on type of guitar and model)

Personally I feel the Statocaster is still the most versatile electric guitar around today, it can be used in many styles and will never feel out of place, with its tremolo arm and floating bridge you are able to get sounds you can not achieve with a standard, fixed bridge. The Strat can give you bright and dark tones which may be all you need to get you through a set of songs. If you have the choise, a hollowed bodied guitar, next to a Les Paul and a Strat will give you all what there is to offer in guitar tone-and feel.

Hope to catch you soon again,
Eddie