So I often use usually use
Kushview Element as a plugin host as you can do all sorts of complex routings (not the least have series/parallel routings). It also can install both as a VST2 and VST3, and you can load the VST2 and then pull into the host all your VST3 plugins.
Other than that, for loading plugins in directly:
All of Melda production's VSTs from the fantastic
MFreeFXBundle are incredibly stable
The VSTs from the
Kilohearts Essential suite come in VST2 as well as 3 and are amazing. You can purchase
Snap Heap which is a host/routing/modulation utility for $30 and it runs fairly stable too, but as you add in more effects and modulators etc, you run the risk of crashing.
VSTs.
WA Production Criminally underrated plugins. (
Can often be found on sale for as low as $5 each--in fact do not pay more than $15 for either of these-they are nearly always on sale!):
The King multiband compressor I use on nearly every track (it has upwards compression as well as downwards, which I love)
Dodge Pro Volume/envelope shaper which can emulate a sidechained kick without actually sidechaining (which I don't think you can do in BiaB as, AFAIK, BiaB does not support any form of routing). It also can function as a trance gate and do all sorts of creative things by independently carving out low/mid/high and high frequncies with dozens of preset curves and shapes.
iZotope: Trash 2 (brilliant distortion plugin, but so much more. The Convolve section alone is worth the price of admission).
DDLY Dynamic Delay (bit of a learning curve and must be used judiciously)
Mobius Filter: Runs stable, but without the ability to write automation as you can in DAWs, has limited functionality.
VSTis
AIR Music Technology Xpand2!: Fantastic ROMpler (the EDM Snippet
here was generated with one instance of it on a held piano chord track from the utility styles, (which you could view as the poor man's version of what is now accomplished via a chord track), with all 4 channels/layers running something else. As a ROMpler, there is 0 learning curve, and is as "plug-and-play" as they get.
LoomII: Absolutely unique additive synthesis engine, but a bit of an odd one overall. Nearly unmatched for spacy evolving and textural pads and sequences. A no-brainer if you are into ambient music and ethereal soundscapes. Don't use it all that often, tbh, but is quite stable.
VacuumPro: Incredible sound for 70s and 80s synth tones, but one of the dumbest layouts and GUIs I ever saw, IMO. Stick with the presets and you can't go wrong (actually, there are plenty of weird ones that I find next to no utility for, but there are enough great ones if you are willing to take the time to sift through them.
Pro tip: Experiment with the mod wheel! Of course many of the lead presets use the modwheel for vibrato, but the other presets usually modulate other parameters that will put a delighted smile on your face.
Hybrid 3: I cannot sing this praises of this VSTi enough. I can go on and on about it, but I don't have the time at the moment, and it would be wrong of me to start talking about it without really doing a deep dive.
Some of the AIR plugins can be expensive at MSRP, but are often on sale for $15-25, and, if you keep an eye on them, can go even lower.
There are quite a few others, but I don't really have the time to list them all at the moment, so maybe I'll come back later and add some more.
As for how all these run; they are pretty stable, as long as I don't tray to mess with too many parameters of load new patches while BiaB is playing.
(You can see my specs in my signature, and you might note that my PC is getting long in the tooth, so many of you will probably have a much better time of it).
DB09
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