I'll add that I make a living using Sonar.  It's more than adequate to make professional recordings.  Of course, there are lots of variables that should be considered- talent, hardware, software learning curve, etc. However, I've never encountered any show-stoppers although I've seen some stressed users now and again out here.  Good luck.

I have Cubase LE 5.  funny enough it came with my Tascam interface, now Tascam ships with Sonar. One of the big reasons I didn't upgrade Cubase is the user forum.. It's about 10% of this forum. 
Cubase does not include as many usable VST instruments. It's a solid piece of software but Sonar is defiantly more bang for the buck. 
I tried to down load the demo of Cubase 8 and the file was corrupted so never got a chance. It screwed my dongle up too. So they are far from perfect. 

Not Sure is this helps but I played long and hard with Cubase and it never worked for me. However, CW worked straight out of the box. Seemed an awful lot more logical!
 
I worked my way up to platinum and although I can't use it all yet, it allows me to post a song a week on Sound Cloud. I'm afraid Cubase would be too finickerty for me to do the same using it. CW support, even through the "meltdown", was great for me and I really enjoy using the program.
 
For me I would encourage you to but the best version of Cakewalk Sonar you can, and as soon as possible
 
Hope this helps
 
Marko
 
P.S. YouTube is awash with great Sonar tutorials and it doesn't take long to work out the differences between working ProTools and Sonar, but in the months I have been learning Platinum I have never once seen anyone mention Cubase in the Tutorials there. Probably just me, but this is my experience.

Well, you ARE in the Sonar forum. If I were starting out I would demo or buy the cheapest software I could. I would give Sonar, Cubase, Studio One and Reaper a try. Chances are one if them will pop out as a favorite. At that point, you would have to be convinced that support, or lack thereof, may change your mind. I have found this forum invaluable, but there are mutterings that these forums may change( I.e the Bakery experiment).
As to support from Cakewalk itself, in spite of the glowing reports of hiring staff and reducing tickets, I have done a weekly or biweekly attempt to sign up for phone support since last May. I have never been able to schedule a time. Something happened at Cakewalk and my belief is that phone support is a thing of the past.
Anyway, try all the DAWs and then decide. Who cares about support for a product they won't use?
Good luck, really you can't go wrong these days.

but the lifetime updates...is a deal!