[crazymoose]

-Price Range - What can you afford? (I have $_)
$300 (Probably could manage up to $500, but that's stretching it)

-Necessity - Why do you need it? Will you be playing out with it? If so, what sorts of places are you looking to play? Are you planning to mic the amp? Will you have to rely on just your amp's volume from time to time? (I play here, here, and sometimes here.)
Home practice, worship maybe. Probably occasionally practicing with a drummer.

-Frequency - How often are you going to be playing out? Is this something that's going to be used alot, or just once a month?
It'll be my only bass amp, so decently often.

-Musical Style - Artists/bands/guitarists are more helpful to list than gneres, it's best to avoid listing genres. (I want to have a sound like this artist.)
Metal. Bass is a secondary instrument so I'm really not too picky. I play more metal and hard rock, but versatility is probably more important.

-Current Setup - What amp and guitar do you currently have? What sort of effects do you use? What is it about your setup that feels deficient? In other words, why do you want a new amp?
(My amp is too __ for my needs.)
P-bass copy that I'm putting some quarter-pound pups in. Also my dad's building a carvin bass. This is my first bass amp (except my gf's amp which is a super cheap amp that just generally sounds like crap. She got it for free)

-Experience - How long have you been playing guitar? Have you tried out amps already? Which/How many? What did you like/dislike about amps that you've already tried out?
Been playing guitar for 2.5 years. I play bass off and on for fun. I really don't have that good of an ear for bass amps, I don't know what to look for cause I haven't played enough.

-Personal Research - What amps are you interested in? Are you interested in getting a combo setup, or getting a head and cabinet separate? Tube? Solid State?
I've been looking at the Fender Rumble and Bassman series. Based on what was in shops here I was leaning towards the Rumble 100. It doesn't sound quite as good as the Bassman series but it's louder and cheaper and it's not that much worse.

-Shopping - Where do you plan on buying from? Do you want to purchase this new, or are you willing to be a little more patient and pick up a used model?
I plan on buying local if I can. New or used depending. Used amp market kinda sucks in calgary though. I really want to try it before I buy it so I'd really rather not ship in from somewhere.

-Timeline - How soon do you need a new amp? Do you already have the money for it, or is this something you're saving towards?
Soonish.

[Micahb]

In the price range I'd go:

It's closer to the $500 mark, but check this out
Buy SWR WorkingPro 10 100 Watt 1x10 Bass Combo Amp | Solid State Combo Amps | Musician's Friend
You have L&M in Calgary, right? I think they stock SWR so you could try it out.

These are also nice, and closer to the price you listed.
Buy Eden Nemesis EN15 Bass Kick-Back Combo Amp | Solid State Combo Amps | Musician's Friend

Which Bassman were you looking at? On Musicians Friend they have the Rumble 100 and the Bassman 100 for the same price. If you have played them both and prefer the Bassman then you could just order online. They have a used one, too.