Hey Zak - If your into beats then programs such as Reason and FruityLoops Studio may be of interest to you.
Cubase is a great piece of software for recording audio as is Sonar (which I use). Cubase SX 3 is the latest version( I think) and SOnar is up to version 4 now. There are various editions, such as “Studio” and “Producer”, depending on what your requirements are. I record a lot of live instruments so tend to use Sonar more than anything else, but I sometimes work out beats and loops with Reason. In fact all the percussion on my EP with Leigh Franklin was done using Reason, and I was pleased with the overall sound.
I use an external USB soundcard (tascam US122) for recording, and that’s pretty much it apart from all the instruments etc, which are real!