you never have to worry about an amp being under utilized if you are determined to play the heck out of it - at most, maybe so in the short run until your army schedule is less erratic. in any case good gear makes you work harder to play better. a great sounding clean amp entices you to play clean and hear every nuance, and not go overkill on the drive. practising clean is a great way to help you improve anyway.
in the long run, a good clean amp like a jtm45 will last you for life. you won't ever feel the need to change it because it's not good enough - you might want a different flavour, true, but it won't be because you think the amp's not cutting it in one way or another.
really, i think a Fender Hot Rod Deluxe (1x12) or a DeVille (which is more common but more expensive, and available in 2x12 or 4x10 versions) would be within your reach. Both amps are good enough for any gig you can throw at it, though of course unmiced, the DeVille will sound "bigger" and have a more "3 dimensional" sound as it has additional speakers.
The Laney or the Peavy which I mentioned in previous posts should only be bought as a last resort and only unless you're really on a budget. While cheap, I wouldn't really recommend the Vox AC 15 / 30 CC series either as the workmanship is lacking, opening the chassis to change tubes is a nightmare and frankly, you either like the tonal qualities or you don't. They are also quite sensitive in relation to your other gear. Not the most pedal friendly of amps and frankly the Wharfdale speaker in the cheaper CC1 is noticeably tinny.
DSLs are absolutely rubbish clean, sorry. If you can say that amp sounds good clean you really haven't heard many amps - may I gently suggest you do some proper listening and comparisons with other similar amps before recommending these as there are far better options for the money. Bad projection, they don't take pedals well, and boast of no sparkle or depth whatsoever. a TSL, JVM or Vintage Modern have much better clean settings although once you hit that territory (and any older JCM800s, Plexis etc) you're gonna be way out of your budget.
on a final dinosaur jr note - generally an inverse correlation between the strength of their albums and the appeal of their artwork. you're living all over me is probably their best album and the artwork is abominable. the exception is probably where you been, which is likely their second best album (or at least the best place to introduce most people to the band), and has pretty awesome artwork to boot!
