Okay So I have a Mexican strat, 5-6 years old solid maple neck, that one
I have a dual chan Mesa boogie dual rectifier and I'm looking for pickups that would bring me the tone of the gods. Like not noisy, warm Eric johnsonish SRV or Hendrix, warm full cleans with a light gain, idk. Make reccomendations
I realize I will need some rack gear as well, what is some badass shit?

One thing you don't need rack gear or pedals. The less between your guitar and your amp the better the tone will be. Is it a standard or a fat strat? If they are single coils, then why not look into some of thie higher end Fender noiseless sets (obvious I know). Its really all about preference. I personally prefer a humbucker with the availabilty of a coil tap. Since you can make a humbucker replicate the tone of a single coil, yet you can't replicate the tone of a humbucker with a single coil. Also depending on the they way your guitar was manufactured you may be able to add a humbucker in the bridge position as well.

nope it's s s s

Eh, I disagree. Some of the most famous guitar tones in history are only available through a post amp EQ and some expensive as fuck pedals.

For the tone you're looking for, you might want to get a better guitar. Mexican Strats are cool, but for starting. If you're starting to become a tone-freak, I'm going to assume you've been playing for at least 2 years. Buying a nice guitar will make huge difference in your tone. I'd say buy a standard american strat, they're like $400-500 I think. Set your amp so it's mostly mids-highs and use the dirty channel for a little grit in your playing if you want some light distortion. If you're going for a bluesy kind of distortion, like really smooth and clear, you might want to look into buying an overdrive pedal.

been playing for years, I want versatility. Solid orange esque vintage distortion to red hot chili peppers, what kind of rack gear should I look into?

That would be the price of the mexican made fender strats

and if you want true tube tone, pushing it through a bunch of digital rack gear isn't going to give you the body and voicing that you would really want. from the amp. It would maybe add veersatility in style... but not the type of sound a "guitar tone enthusiast" would want.

On another note if you are set on getting pedal setups. I would only suggest getting true/full analog pedals. Digital and hybrid pedals are shit.

go for seymour jazz humbuckers imo

Forgot to state I meant used, I figured the OP would be more interested in that.

A tone " Enthusiast " wouldn't be using just a guitar, and an amp. That's the whole idea behind your tone, add stuff in, take stuff out, switch it up until you find one you really like. As far as your basic setup goes, tonal options are extremely bland. I've played for almost 5 years now and consider myself to be a tone freak of sorts, and I'm still experimenting with new pedals/effects. If you're into precise tone, EQ is an absolute must.

For the sounds you're looking for, a common effects pedal is the tube screamer.

Voodoo labs sparkle drive is a decent cheap one (and it has a clean boost which is cool too).

Does the guitar matter as much as the pups? I been thinking about hot or cool rods. What does active pup mean? The one I mainly use?