The Fender Precision bass is pretty much the standard for bass guitars and can be heard in every type of music. The Squier versions are very good, especially if you step up to the mid teir ones.
Personally, I find the neck of the Precision a bit chunky so I went with the Jazz bass. I have a Squier 70's Modified series and it is great.
Do you have any tones or players you're trying to replicate/immulate? That may point you in a certain direction.
For the amp I wouldn't go with anything less than a 12" speaker. You really need to move some air to get a good sound. I have a Peavey solid state amp but I wish I gone with a bigger speaker.