I love Image-Line. One of the best things about being a registered owner of FL Studio is the free, LIFETIME upgrades to the software. I bough FL Studio Producer plus a few plugins so I can upgrade to the producer edition of every new version they come out with and it remembers what plugins I own. This software, for the uninitiated, is a must have for working with midi files and making them come to life with soundfonts (the soundfont engine was the best upgrade I purchased from them) and also for the great quality beats you can lay down - Version 6 sounds even better! You can download FL Studio for free and everything works except you cannot save. Try it out by clicking
here. I highly recomend the Producer Edition, unless you really want the video stuff then go for XXL. Producer is so much more feature rich than the basic edition but there is a comparisson chart that can help you decide what is best for you. Of course you can always try to pirate this but I really recommend you buy it...it is FREE lifetime upgrades, remember?
I have been using this software since version 4. It is a must have application for anyone serious about home recording.