hello al, I know we are all busy, but if anyone can share thoughts I would be thankful.
 
Basically I have been a musician and music teacher for sometime and really starting to enjoy composing! I have Aria player and want to export my midi data to a daw and then load better inst..etc.  I also will be doing live recording down the road..(vibraphone and small group stuff)  I also would be into learning more about electronic music as well.  and some video to music-very basic.
I have worked with studio one a bit and teach a basic audio class were I use that daw, but I want to try another  DAW as my studio one will not accept vst's and I can't load a few other file extensions..unless I pay big bucks. (I think it's more or almost more compared to platinum vers) 
 
lastly is the free upgrades REALLY worth it?
 
I hope I am clear had a concert last night and just beat.! thanks you all and I hope I will start a good relationship with calkwalk!
jj

You can demo all three Sonar versions for free.
https://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR/Try-SONAR
No time limit but you cannot save projects.
 
I would say the lifetime updates are worth it.
If EDM was all I did with a DAW, not sure Sonar would be my first choice but you can certainly produce EDM with Sonar. Live recording is a no-brainer with Sonar.
There is a whole bunch of cool things bundled with Sonar Platinum (AD2, Melodyne, TH3 to name a few).
For a beginner, Sonar is probably the best bang for the buck.
Download one or all the demos and see if you like it.

You might even find something simple like Sonar Home studio would be efficient.
Right now its only 35.00 (I believe that price is still active) It is still 35.00. 
You cant beat it for that price.
http://www.cakewalk.com/Products/SONAR-Home-Studio

+1 to Home Studio to get your feet wet with Sonar. It's the core program without the fluff. 
For the price you cannot loose. 
Even though I have the full version of Platinum I bought HS to run on my Live laptop. I'm finding very little missing that I used in Platinum.  
 

jjvibes
but I want to try another  DAW as my studio one will not accept vst's and I can't load a few other file extensions..unless I pay big bucks.

 
Trying SONAR is free, so go ahead. But...learning a new DAW takes time (especially SONAR, because it's a very complex program....i.e. feature-packed, so it's my DAW of choice). As for Studio One, I think they recently did a 50% discount (still doing it?)  

thank you all for your help!!  what a great forum..easy to nav. and not much clutter!

Unless the OP has a bunch of VSTis, I'm not sure "Home Studio" is a good idea based on what he says he wants to do.
 
Platinum comes with the most VSTs and will provide plenty of tools to take MIDI files and turn them into something that actually sounds like music.  
 
With all of these Windows 10 updates, doing lifetime makes quite a bit of sense.  If you buy a version of some other DAW and Windows makes an update that doesn't play nice, you will likely be paying for the "next" version of the DAW.
 
Sonar Plat is certainly one of the most feature packed for the money.   I'd try the demo and see how you like it.

ok, great. i do keep up with updates and was wondering the same thing!
i most likely will benefit w/life time updates and will try the demo. hopefully there are some great vids out there to help sync up my midi keyboard..(i will be sure to get the newest drivers!)
 
lastly, does anyone recommend a good source to learn about sonar?  books..vids..etc!
thanks

I opted for a earlier version of Home Studio whilst lecturing at Worcester College in the UK. Based upon that experience, I would happily recommended it for both personal and educational use. I started my contract around the time Microsoft released Windows 7, so I took the opportunity to replace the out-dated Cubase installations with Home Studio and my students found it to be both intuitive and reliable.

I should also add that this forum is an invaluable source of helpful information thanks to both Cakewalk staff and the very knowledgeable users.