Damage over time? 
 
Yes. It will be damaging my bank account over time 
 
So I'm going to set myself a budget for about $1000-$1800. $1000 being available almost immediately. I'm an avid gamer and draw much innovation from video games and television. So I play everything from the latest and greatest to the retro hits that have defined my generation. I need a rig that is future proof and able to handle the intensities of amateur music production. I hope not to be an amateur for too long, but it is what it is. Basically I want a cross between a extremely solid gaming rig and a music production rig that can handle multiple daws and vsts. Not all at once of course but you guys get my drift.
 
The price of SSD is dropping these days to the point where you can source a terabyte for maybe 250-300. Most of all I'm worried about performance, but storage space shouldn't be overlooked as project files AND video games can takes terabytes of storage easily.
 
So with this budget what do you guys think would be a good route/build? I'm not exactly the most technical guy on earth but my brother usually helps me look over specs and performance/price ratios since he is more technically inclined.
 
I prefer a 2 monitor set up, so a graphics card that can handle that easily is a must. It just makes recording and editing so much easier. Also gaming on 2 screens is pretty badass.
 
 

Basic stuff really. probably 8-16g ram, 4+ cores, full size tower. maybe a water cooling system. doesn't have to be ssd, but I'd prefer it. bang for the buck top graphics card. etc.

Not built a machine in 4 years, but a great resource to you is http://www.passmark.com/baselines/top.html
 
I linked the top benchmarked systems on there, but the top of that page also has benchmarks (tabs at the top) specific to CPU, drives, Ram, GPU, etc. These scores are uploaded by people benchmarking their machines using Passmark's software, and the top machines have a common theme to CPU/MB/RAM/Card.

1. CPU - Intel Core i7-5960X @ 3.00GHz
   
2. MB - ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. RAMPAGE V EXTREME
   
3. GPU - GeForce GTX 980/970
   

All of those systems are overclocked, which is not something I would not recommend as it is not as dramatic as many think and causes excessive heat to the CPU (which will damage it over time!).
 
Just bear in mind... regardless of how "high end" your machine is, you will still need an audio interface to do any serious audio recording (so budget for that one too).
 
Also realize you do not need "top of the line" (so check the benchmark vs price for components) as my machine still runs at <30% CPU on the most intense things except for encryption/video rendering. An SSD on the OS is recommended (be sure to research proper setup and maintenance of them).
 
Bottom line... research a lot and ask a lot before building/ordering.

Thanks brother. I will take what you said to heart. I do have an audio interface. Just a little scarlett 2i2 since I at most only need 2 inputs at the moment.

When you say "gaming" in relation to a new computer build this changes the build spec., mainly because the video end of things becomes much more important...I mean ...you can easily spend 500-1000$ on just a good video card. Most gamers want a fast machine and by fast I mean fast video rendering in real time and fast data transfer. I would be looking at a video card that is proven and can handle what you plan to throw at it. If my computer was mainly going to be for gaming and is a secondary daw...then I would start with the most powerful cpu I could afford, 16gb of memory and a good fast and dependable video card...and here is a small quandry....the cooling on gaming video cards can be loud...so you might need to compromise on a card that is rated quiet and also a good performer.

I actually built my gaming DAW (see my sig) with some of the same requirements/concerns as the OP. It'll be 2 years this coming June and have been nothing but stable and solid. Of course, I opted for the older i7 3770k CPU as it was prooven to be solid for DAW work and also gave me the option to OC.
 
You can get a decent graphics card for around $200 - $300 that'll serve the gaming requirements really well (my HIS 7870 was under $200 and although it has a fan, it's extremely quiet).
 
I took my time (asked a lot of questions in here) in selecting the components I currently have and I'm still excited to get on my machine and use it. The cost to build it was just under 2k and I'm hoping this will last a good 3-4 more years.
 
BTW, I love to play TF2 (anytime!!), and I'm Meshodman on Steam.  

I see the OP is a gamer so will want a better Video card.  But  DAW only users don't need anything more than the excellent on board video that comes with most new Mobo's. Mine supports 3 monitors and has 4 options. This also eliminates possible fan noise. Build without the video card you can always add it later. 

Another quick (important) point with the video card... Nvidia does not manufacture the cards, they control the design spec/drivers. For the card itself, be sure to also research the brand and not just "GeForce [whatever]"
 
I became a big proponent of ASUS after building this machine. It initially came with liquid cooling (which was discontinued due to ruptures), and mine ruptured about a year after purchase. I am glad I was at the machine at the time (the coolant stinks to high heaven), as I noticed the machine running slower and slower before I smelled it. It rained all over the MB and GPU, but I just shut it off, blew it all out with air and let it dry for a day. Replaced the heat sink with copper pipe and been that way since (3 years ago). Both the MB/GPU are ASUS, and that event made me a hard-core fan of them.
 
I have two fans on my GPU and not had any issue with fan noise (again, manufacturer plays big into the product). Another point is that for consistent environmental noise, there are software with noise reduction options available.