I caught the Brad Paisley bug a couple years back. Got myself a Dr Z StangRay and a new tele immediately - and I can't believe I still haven't pulled the trigger on the Z-Wreck yet!
If you like Brad's style of playing, you really need to check out Doug Seven's collection of online lessons.
http://www.SizzlingGuitarLicks.com There are plenty of good tutorials on various country styles, scales and picking techniques. Once you get some of this stuff under your fingers, you'll find it amazingly applicable to all styles of music. Beware, it's addictive...