I should say up front that at heart I remain an old school
Analogue Guy.
I pine for microphones and outboard gear makes my heart float. After songwriting, my greatest thrill is to translate what I hear in a room using only microphone placement and my ears. My double-plus-secret mantra is "real men do it with 2 mics and a room."
Even so, following the heartbreaking dissolution of my recording studio (Dead Dog Studio), and subsequent demise of P22 Audio, economic exigencies have forced me to consider alternatives to my beloved and much missed API, Neumann, Focusrite, Summit....sigh....Genelec, Neve, AKG C12....
I should also say that as an old curmudgeon, I will maintain to my dying day that making music with computers is a mixed-blessing.
I think that computers quite often seduce musicians and engineers into indulging in endless hours of tweaking for the sake of tweaking. All of that power seems to distract from a simple truth: that a great recording starts with a great performance of a great band playing a great song. No computer will ever change that.
Yet, all is not lost. The good news is that affordable VST technology is pretty terrific.
And so, I am now using some really great tools to make music (while trying to resist the urge to tweak too much!).
Here are a few that I especially like.
Multitrack/Sequencer
Cubase SX2. Steinberg is one of the oldest and most respected audio companies. In fact, they invented VST technology. Although I am still adjusting to Cubase SX (nothing will ever replace a real mixer for me, I am afraid), and despite the fact that (to my ears at least) something seems to happen to the sound when you export a 2-track mix (to my ears, mixes sound better in SX before they are exported - even if they are exported to 32 bit they seem "smaller" and lack some detail), this is an undeniably powerful piece of software. They also host cubase.net - a very active form that is an often feisty and opinionated place.
Synths
Arturia CS-80 V and Moog Modular V. Terrific emulations of 2 classic synths. The GUIs (which are photorealistic renderings of the original synths) are real works of art. Also worth noting is the fact that Arturia just released Moog Modular V version 2 - and made it free to registered users. I cannot commend them enough for the free upgrade.
Big Tick Rhino. Incredibly deep synth at a very reasonable price. If you are into rolling your own, Rhino is very deep. Did I mention it was deep? If you are into presets, Rhino comes bundled with what may be the best set of presets I've heard.
Cameleon 5000. This creative and innovative audio plugin is perhaps the warmest sounding VST around. Other award-winning Camel Audio products include synthesizer CamelPhat,. All are available as vst, vsti and audio units versions.
DashSignature Eve. The brainchild of WilliamK and Liqih, this synth if a very CPU efficient synth capable of a broad range of vintage and modern sounds. It has a vibe all its own and a cult following.
M-Tron. I'm a hopeless progressive rock fan. If you are too, you simply need this. Sing with me now: "In the court of the Crimson King..."
White Noise Additive Synth and DoppelMangler. I was lucky enough to be a beta tester for these interesting synths. DoppelMangler is a special favorite, as it offers a novel approach to resynthesis with a GUI that begs to be played with. hard to make it sound bad. The fact that I have contributed many patches is proof that anyone can come up with interest and useful sounds with DoppelMangler.
Wuskikstation. Another masterpiece from WilliamK. Wusikstation is a hybrid vector and wavesequencer sample-based synth that picks up where Eve left off. Like Eve, it sounds great, is very CPU friendly, and is reasonably priced. William is also very responsive to user-feedback, which is a major plus. You really should check out the demo - you'll want one. Wusik.com gives you the the option of downloading the entire sound-set for the demo, which means when you buy the full-version all you need to do is download the authorized VST itself. Great idea.
Samplers/Workstations
SampleTank 2 XL. I probably use this more than any other plugin. As I mentiond above, I am an old school guy, and I find that I use it more than any other plugin. This is an incredible VST workstation, and offers loads of fantastic sounds, especially pianos, organs, basses, drums, strings, brass - meat and potato stuff in the very best sense. Another significant advantage for ST2 users is the active presence of Dave Kerzner (CEO of Sonic Reality) on the SampleTank/Sonic RealityForum. As Squids, he is a great guy, very respectful, a huge prog rock fan, and a terrific source of information.
Drums
FXPansion DR-008. Another plugin I use on nearly every project. I would say that this is the ne plus ultra of VST drums, but that honor goes to another FXPansion product: the mighty BFD.
Effects
PSP. This group of polish developers makes some terrific products like MixPack and Vintage Warmer, both of which I use regularly.
Voxengo. I can't say enough good things about these plugins. They are incredibly good-sounding, professional tools at a very reasonable price. As a one-time mastering engineer, several of the plugins are designed for mastering applications, but work great for tracking as well. Worth noting is the fact that developer Aleksey Vaneev is extraordinarily active with updates, and as he offers a very liberal upgrade policy you get more than your money's worth. Highly recommended.
Resources
K-v-R. This is the single most important source for information on VST technology. It has one of the most active communities on the net, and offers unique access to loads of free stuff, reviews. Anyione interesting in VST will want to bookmark this.