I agree, Gekko, Fruity Loops is awesome, and you can import the loops into any other music program, too. I use version 3 in conjunction with Sonar. The dynamic sound of the samples gives the music a professional edge especially in the percussion area.

ModPlug tracker can use VST plug-ins, and has reeverb, bass expansion, automatic gain control, surround and much more. The author says that he wants to pull mod files out of the dos ages with his program.

I use FL Studio (3, and now 4) for 3 years now, and it's a great program. I write most of my music in FL Studio 4, but because it's harder to publish it in mp3 format (bigger), I convert the files manually to mod format (using modplug tracker). I publish them at modarchive.com under the artist name 'music maniak' (free of charge).