Third party FX

iZotope Alloy 2 and Ozone 7 Advanced. While you're at it, you may want to go for their Music Production Bundle. Sheer FX pleasure.

Ozone 7 Advanced can give you just about everything you need,
and all the Modules can be used as individual plugins...which is
a MAJOR bonus...and the Insight Metering is awesome...which
is included in 07A....

If you own 2 Izotope products you can get the Music Production
Bundle for $249, which includes 07A, Alloy, Trash & 2 Expansions,
and Nectar Production Suite...that would cover just about everything
you could possibly need...

But O7A alone is worth the price....

bapu
 
Just remember:
“It did what all ads are supposed to do: create an anxiety relievable by purchase.” 
― David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

"If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you cannot accomplish”
– The Pale King (2011)

Mmmm, Toraverb. Got to play with that juan.

dcumpian
 
 
Many beginners and hobbyists assume that more expensive plugins will make your music sound better. I've been there myself, and it simply isn't true, as long as the plugins used are, at the very least, transparent. 
 
 

^^^this is good
 
But, if you have a little spending cash for such things, wait for a sale (you won't have to wait long) and dive in to a few third party offerings anyway.
 
I run Sonar Artist, which comes with minimal bloat, and rely on the third party plugins I have come to know. I got on okay with the stock plugs but succumbed to the "more $$$ + intentional design = better sound" paradigm. I actually don't regret it though.
 
I don't have any Waves plug-ins at the moment, but I used to have lots, until they kicked in with their yearly update fee or whatever that was. If they still do that, it totally sucks.
 
I'd recommend you look at Fab Filter Pro-L limiter, and a nice convolution reverb like QL Spaces. I think the stock set of Sonar plugs is deficient in those two areas.
 
Another "third party" concept for you is not effects, but sounds/instruments. You could spend eons coaxing something out of Dimension Pro, and there is some good stuff in there, but holy moly if you get Kontakt that opens up whole worlds of sonic awesome, some of which requires minimal tweaking with effects of your part.
 
Ozone is a beast, I have it, others love it, but I'd say the learning curve is steep (it's a powerful program) for example one of its modules lets you add different levels of sonic excitement to different frequency bands. That's kind of useful. However, in the wrong hands it can EASILY screw up a mix, and you might throw hours down a rat hole. And I'd argue that other third party offerings are more transparent in their treatment of your sound.
 
 
so what I'm saying is, good luck! Post some songs and get feedback from others like yourself, I've found that very useful in surfing the learning curve.
 
-Tom
 
 

JonD
A year's subscription to Groove3 (And then, of course, watching and absorbing as many videos as you can) will do more for your music productions than any VST purchase.

 
Watching and learning something new from a Groove 3 video  has been one of the things that has helped me a lot when I'm sitting here on the sidelines wishing I had the money available to spend on some of the super hot VST software deals when they are happening .
Watching the vid helps me cope with not having the bucks . Plus in most cases I usually learn something new ...
 
I know I can say this publicly here on the forum and be totally OK with it ...
My other secret weapon / coping skill  is a rather tough pill to swallow ....yet I know it's true ....
 
I've asked myself this question given my current level of skill   
What would happen if I sat down to do music on Noels computer , Craig A's computer , Bapu's computer , yorolpal's  computer or any other forum member that is known for having a choice selection of plugs and top shelf VST tools ...
As much as I would like to believe that skill wise  I would be instantly transformed into something just like a musical  Cinderella that finally get invited to the Ball .
The truth is , for me  it would be much more accurate for me to say that using one of the above mentioned persons computers at  my current level of skill with all the cool plugs they have would probably equal I simply might just get lucky ....
When I say lucky ,realistically I'm talking more a long the lines of a blind squirrel that found a nut simply because he just got lucky ...not because he knew where or how to find it ....
alright my confession is now over  lol
 
all the best,
 
Kenny 
 

Mesh
IK's T-Racks are also excellent. The best way (most economical) to get them is when IK has a group buy or some other major sale (like the one going on right now). They have become my go to and it's very easy to tweak to get very good results.

Another T-TrackS fan here.  Watch for bundle deals
 
I use stuff from Waves Gold quite a bit too.  GTR was a surprise gem in Gold.  Watch for bundle deals

bapu
3rd party plugs are a sinkhole for your wallet. I know. You can end up with hundreds (if not thousands) of choices and it can be daunting when you just want to get your song done.
 
Kenny and Dan pretty much have the right of it. Learn what you have and then decide if what have is not quite getting you there. Then go back and really figure out why and chances are you don't need anything new.
 
Just remember:
“It did what all ads are supposed to do: create an anxiety relievable by purchase.” 
― David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest

That comment is dead on.  Like others I've gone through a TON of plugins and now regularly use about 20.  If I could be so bold as to offer any advice, I'd say listen to your recordings and see what you think they lack and then go from there.
 
As a closing note: years ago I bought a Roland VS840 8-track digital recorder.  It was nothing exceptional. It had acceptable preamps and had some on-board digital effects.  Included with it were several songs that were recorded ONLY with the VS840 and additional mics.  THEY SOUNDED BEAUTIFUL!!  I learned then that it's not so much the equipment you have, as how you use it.  Maybe in addition to looking at plugins you might also spend some time studying mic placement and room acoustics.  I think those two things could give you gigantic gains in your recordings.
 
Best of luck to you!

SPlat ProChannel is really all ya need to do amazing stuff...the current sale on the PC leveler is a must have.
 
I sport a thousand plugs... I use maybe 10 of them... total waste of money!  If I were you I'd invest in Omnisphere 2 and a lot of Plug in Guru O2 packs... will radically improve your creative chops and songwriting more than ANY product I know. BTW, just go to youtube and subscribe to the pluginguru vids.... you will learn a bucketful of awesomeness for FREE

I love this forum - just brilliant, in depth thoughtful comment. Thanks for taking the time. I'm not a novice, I started with an 8 Track back around 2001, and have been using DAWs since about '04, Sonar since '08 I think. During those early years I was forever on KVR and picking up FX, some of which I actually used. Then you change computer, forget what you had and realise you don't miss those things.
 
Upgrading recently to Platinum recently I had already pretty much come to the conclusion that it contained virtually everything I could possibly need. 
 
So, I am very fortunate in that before the end of 2016, I will have more time to spend on my passion for making music. And that will be devoted to learning to use what is under my nose, including an annual sub to Groove 3.
 
And I'll get brave and post a song or two for critique, been a few years now!