Jeku, yes I would recommend Cakewalk SONAR Home Studio, but I chose it for my specific needs. I wanted mainly a digital track recording studio where I could line in my v-drums, guitars, bass etc and do tracks, apply nice mixing/editing/mastering etc, so sonar was perfect for this. Sonar also does full midi composition, and looping etc, so its a complete package and is a great deal for its price. I havent messed with other packages so I can't say anything in comparison, so it pretty much comes down to which package describes the features you need and what you want to spend, and reviews of comparisons (on the web or in trade mags etc). My advice is research as much as you can before dropping the dosh.
Good luck.
If you have any sonar specific questions I can answer them, in the context of audio/tracking, I've not messed with the midi aspects yet.
Quote: "Do I *need* a special soundcard for it? "
not really, I have an sb live (which is considered shite by the music community and rightly so) but as long as you have a decent sound card that can line in and do midi you should be fine. They do sell all sorts of cool gadgets/sound cards, depending on what you want to do. I especially like the idea of the M-Audio sound cards, that have multiple inputs where you can simultaneously record different input connections onto different tracks. This is great for drum recording - but I dont have a card like that yet. There's all sorts of cool gadgets out there but I am just looking atm, not ready to purchase any new hw yet. If anything i'd first pick up a Tama Iron Cobra double-bass pedal for my roalnd kit
Then worry about other stuff.
