Fuck it, I just wrote a detailed message and it's disappeared, so long story short; what software would you recommend? Everyone I've spoken to has talked up the obvious contenders - Ableton/Floops/Cubase/Logic - for various reasons, and I don't have a problem with any of those (or a preference for), except Logic(8), which is out as I'm on a PC. I know a basic version of one of the above with plug-ins would be the best, but budget is limited (which has a knock-on effect with third party equipment, so anything with built in keys is definitely a winner) so I need to bear that in mind.

Advice please! Thanks!