Hi!
I was always playing the cheapest strings I could get here in my town. Then I discovered that Thomann had Ernie Balls for pretty little money, and since I've heard of them back then, I now play those. Can't tell the difference in sound really, but they last longer than the cheap ones, and maybe they sound clearer and more poewerful. But that may be wishful thinking.
For my acoustic guitar, I use the thickest strings I can get (.13) - this may hurt a bit, but my guitar sounds that much fuller and richer and louder and more powerful. With the electric guitar I'm not so sure if that's also the case. Maybe the specialists here know about that.
Cheers, Doc