+1 for Reaper. It comes with some excellent ReaPlugs (effects such as reverb, compression, EQ, etc.), and there are many many good free VSTs and VSTi's that can be used with it. The online support community for Reaper is excellent and extremely helpful. As the OP said, for $40 you really can't beat it, and plus IMHO it is better than most other DAWs that I have seen for 10x the price.