I mean... if that's the one that felt best to you, then there ya go!

There is nothing wrong with a Player II. MIM vs MIA has differences, but the ultimate goal is a guitar you love to play. My method has always been, if it sounds good unplugged and feels great to play, then plugging it in should also sound great. From there, you can always swap out pickups and hardware as you determine any changes you want. However, if it sounds dead unplugged, no amount of pickup swapping is making that dud into a great guitar, imo.

I would always look at the core aspects of the guitar to see if it's a keeper. First and foremost is the neck/fretboard. Shape, depth, width, and radius. If they are what you like, then that box is checked. Next, look at the fretwork and make sure it is up to par. Things like fret sprout or rough frets are something you shouldn't have to deal with on a new guitar. If the QC isn't up to par, then put that one back on the wall.

After my years of playing different tele's, I know my ultimate Tele sound seems to require the following:

• Lightweight ash body: This has a direct affect on the resonance of the guitar, and I've just loved the sound of the ash bodies i've played over alder. When I strum a chord, I need to feel the vibrations fully in my left hand as well as in my body, from the contact with the guitar body and strap. If I don't, it's a dead guitar, for me.
• Very thin finish (flash coat) or relic'ed: Thick poly finishes and even thick nitro finishes just suck up tone and resonance, imo. There is something open, resonant, and "woody" about all the relic'ed Tele's I've played that NOS finishes just never quite meet.
• Low-mid Output Pickups: I also prefer the handwound relic'ed pickups I've played over the NOS ones. For example, my first #1 Tele was a Custom Shop Super Heavy Relic with HW relic'ed '63 Tele pickups. I later bought my NOW Candy Green '63 tele with the "same" pickups as my #1. They sounded incredibly different. Granted, there were a lot more differences than just the NOS vs relic'ed pickups, but they were still the same model.

I used to think I loved the 60's Oval C neck shape, because that was what my Gold Tele had. But then I later bought my Blackguard CS Tele with a Soft "V" neck profile, and this has now become my favorite neck profile.

My final test of a Tele actually comes from plugging it into my rig, then rolling the guitar volume down to 6-7 and tone around 8-9 to get to an edge of breakup tone, without changing channels or stomping on overdrive pedals. If I'm not able to maintain a level of depth, clarity and dynamics when doing this, then it will never be a guitar I play much.

Again, I'm just sharing the things I'm looking for in a Tele, but this is all 100% subjective.

Thanks for the feedback. I played a bunch of more expensive MIA Tele's at Tone Shop, most with the 9.5" neck radius. I liked them, but the one that felt best to me was a MIM Player II at a GC. Didn't plug it in so I don't know how it's pickups sound, but that can be fixed pretty easily. I wasn't seriously shopping at the time, but I've seen the guitar for sale for like $650. I know I don't want an HH Tele - not the sound I'd be going for.

If the MIM feels the best to you, go for that. IMO, a guitar that feels best to you, and makes you want to play it, is the best. Like Lath said, you can always change out pickups.