What programs can create Dance/Electronica sort of music?

Hi. So, the thread title says it all, really: I'm looking for quality song-making software (better still if there's a free trial) that has a broad sound-set built into it, such that I can create some digital music. I've used Frooty Loops in the past (lost it when my old computer died) and that's kind of what I'm looking for - something where I can just poke circles to create a beat. But also something where I could record through a USB microphone.

I've just started getting into gothic techno-ish music, and naturally I decided I wanted to make my own (says the guy with 2 guitars and a keyboard...).

What programs do you trust that could do all this? (If it makes any difference, I'm working on a Windows OS - Win7 for my laptop, Win8 for my desktop.)

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the replies, all.

I'd never heard of Ableton, so I'll have to check that out. Also glad to hear that Frooty Loops Studio is still considered good (if I use that, there will be less of a learning curve). Not sure if I'll really need a drum machine program if FL or Ableton could do the same job in a different way (I know FL can, as that's what I used it for years ago).

I should've been more clear however - while I do have instruments, my intention here is to create entirely-digital music (apart from possible vocals), and not to record instruments being physically played. (Mostly because as much as I love guitars, I suck at them...)

And for what it's worth, I've used my USB condenser mic to record death metal vocals before, and for the most part it picked up the entire range. There was a bit of growl-static, but for the most part it was fine.

Anyway, I've bookmarked that drum machine site just in case, and will be doing a quick Google of Ableton and FLStudio. Might wait for more comments before I commit to any of them, though.

Oh, just thought of another question! Suppose I wanted to use both Ableton AND FL (for different tasks) - is there then a way to port music layers from one program to the other? So, like, if I wanted to use a particular keyboard soundset only available in Ableton, but also wanted to use a drum soundset only available in FL, could I then merge them together?

Thanks again.

Oh, well that's handy, isn't it?

LOL. Ideally I'd use just what comes prepackaged. And I've also just watched a few YouTube videos about different programs, and have come to the conclusion that the FL Studio interface is much more in my comfort area than any others I've come across. Partly because it still looked reasonably familiar, but then it also looked easier to use.

Going to sit on my hands and think about it for a while before I lay any money down. (It'd also be helpful if I actually went and found how much it cost... )

Just downloaded the FL Studio 12 demo and had a quick play around with it. The interface was a little confusing at first, but I managed to lay down something that sounded alright. Going to play around with it a bit more before I pay for the full copy. And even though I said it was confusing at first, well, I managed to figure things out within about 10 minutes - enough to have a good idea of how the interface works. Going to take a long time to get used to all the different sounds I can make.

But yes - t'was exciting to play around with a music program.

Mmm, hopefully I don't fall into that trap too much. Although, if I start by laying down the drum portion, well, there's less to modify with drum sounds, so it'll be more focused on getting a rough draft of the song down. Which will hopefully guide the rest of it.

Mwuahahhaaaha! Just bought the full copy. I'm going to have a lot of fun with this, I think. There's a hell of a lot I need to learn, to be able to make songs that sound as good in the program as they do in my head, but whatever.

Fortunately I've played instruments before (quite a few different ones, at that), so playing around with FL Studio is slightly less intimidating. For example: I wanted to insert a guitar riff. Once I actually found where the guitar sounds were, and how to load them into the patterns, then it didn't take too much playing around to get something I was happy enough with. (Well, that is, 1/3 of the guitar line I'm happy with - another 1/3 needs slightly different tones, and the other 1/3 will probably require a new pattern...)

On that note, though, I was surprised to find that there are actually quality guitar tones packaged with FL Studio! The plan had originally been, "Death metal drums and vocals, electronica stuff to replace the guitar." But yeah - the guitar stuff is working out alright. That said, there are some things I want to do that I haven't been able to figure out yet... But it'll come in time (and possibly through browsing the FL forums).