I'm beginning to think about buying an electric drumset. This http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/DM10StuK alesis looks like a good trade off of quality vs. price. The Roland drums would be my choice if budget wasn't an issue. What do you have? I have one of these borrowed http://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/SPD30 that I may be able to buy and then add a mesh snare and hihat later. I do have the Kick and hihat foot controllers now, but the Octapad is small.
 
 

I would go for the Alesis DM10, a full kit with room for expansion (inputs 11 & 12) for under $1000.  That's a pretty good deal not to mention the dual and triple zone pads for drums and cymbals, respectively.  I bought an Ion kit a long time ago just for something to use as MIDI triggers for a more "real" playing feel.  It doesn't have multi-trigger heads and I never used the module sounds.  So, even if the DM10 module's sounds aren't as good as Roland's, using your favorite drum synth/rompler will do the trick just fine.
 
If I were going to get the Roland Octapad it would be an addition to another kit.
 
Just my 2¢.
 
Kind regards,
 
Living Room Rocker

The DM10 is a fine kit, does the job well, it's sounds are ok, nothing really wrong with them, but I didn't buy it for it's inbuilt sounds, I use BFD 1, 2, and 3, or sometimes AD or AD2, but not often, BFD is just better. Anyway, if your like me and not a drummer, the DM10 will serve you well.

Yeah, I'm not worried about the sounds. I have EZD2 and AD2 for that. The Octapad works great, but I would like something more realistic.

If you are a drummer then until you get up over $2,000 there's no huge improvement in "realism" of the sounds generated either with the brain or triggered samples. But there will be a more musical (real) performance recorded.   With the basic kits ,they are about the same thing as an octapad,  something to hit that bounces back, But the big difference is that you can play it like a kit with all 4 limbs. So if you are not a drummer, stick with an Octapad type trigger. 
 
I bought the Yamaha DTX 400 as it was the best buy of the starter kits @ $500. 
The sound in the brain are actually very good, They are almost identical the the Birch kit found in Session drummer. I also find the sounds respond better to how hard you play than triggering samples, but I still use Session drummer for my drums. 
 
I had a chance to play the flagship Roland kit, wow, now that is real, Every little nuance is captured and the skins are very nice to play. But It was $5,000. 
But if you can play a full kit of drums, having even a basic kit to whack on will speed up the process of laying down a better drum track.  I used to enter my drums on a keyboard in a few passes, Kick, then snare etc. Now I do it all at once and the accents and fills make musical sense. So the performance is much improved as you can play the part more accurately than with you fingers.  
To get true sonic realism will cost you a lot more.  

I'd get the DM-10, if it's an either/or situation.
You've got the itch now, and you won't really be happy until you do.
I have the DM-6 Kit.
It has rubber heads, which aren't bad, but they don't have the feel of the mylar heads on the DM-10 kit.
I also have added an Alesis Control Pad to supplement the basic kit.
Like Jeff above, I wasn't interested in the built-in sounds. It's main purpose is to function as a controller.
The built-in sounds are good for monitoring while tracking, though.

The kit is way more fun than the pad alone.

Yes, and that, the 'fun' part, the enjoyment factor shouldn't be overlooked. If you have played drums before, you can keep a beat, do a few rolls, fills etc, go for it, you'll get things done quicker, with far more enjoyment and satisfaction, it will sound better, more 'realistic' even if you aren't a fantastic drummer. It's far easier to get the 'feel' of things doing it for real than trying to program the 'feel' with different velocities and timings etc. I just lay down my track as best I can, go into the midi editor, tidy things up that need to be tidied up, then if there are rolls or fills whatever that I would like to add that I couldn't actually play in at the time, (I'm not a drummer, guitars are my main thing) I just go and record them, learn, practice how to play what I want to play, then cut and shut those pieces with the main track. I'm happy, my drumming parts won't win any awards, but they do the job just fine for me, so I am happy, and I got much more enjoyment and satisfaction out of it than I would have with my head stuck in the midi editor.

Alesis makes a great product for the money.  The DM10 module is the same module that Pearl OEM's for their Pearl REDBox module for their ePro live kits.  I love Roland V-drums, but for a price of a TD-30 kit, I could by a fully tripped out DW Collectors kit with exotic veneer finish.  I've never under stood the fact that you can get an awesome workstation keyboard for between 2000-4000 dollars, but to get really decent electronic drums, you jump into the 6000 range.  It's not a good deal, unless that is all you are ever going to play, or you have endless amounts of money to spend.
 
Alesis packed alot of value into the DM series for a reasonable price.  I'm not going to say the DM kits are the best out there.  They are not, but dollar for dollar they are the best value on the market.  The only suggestion I would make if you buy the DM10 is to buy some mesh screen heads, as the Mylar heads are pretty loud.  (sounds like a Remo practice pad if you're familiar with those).
 
I am really interested in seeing Alesis' Sample Pad pro.  It's got some great features for a really decent price (around $300).  I like the Octapad, but from a performance standpoint, I've never liked the pad layout of the octapad. You lose sense of what sounds are where.  Back in the 80's on the analog octapads, people used to use sticky notes to put on the pads to remind them what they were sampling.  The Sample Pad pro setup is in a 3x3 layout so it's much easier from a playing standpoint and easier to remember what sounds are mapped where.

RobertB
I'd get the DM-10, if it's an either/or situation.
You've got the itch now, and you won't really be happy until you do.
I have the DM-6 Kit.
It has rubber heads, which aren't bad, but they don't have the feel of the mylar heads on the DM-10 kit.
I also have added an Alesis Control Pad to supplement the basic kit.
Like Jeff above, I wasn't interested in the built-in sounds. It's main purpose is to function as a controller.
The built-in sounds are good for monitoring while tracking, though.

The kit is way more fun than the pad alone.

I like that setup! I don't really have the room to do this yet, but when I do...something like this is what I would like to have.

I have a DM10 set and it's A LOT easier to play a drum part on that than it is on my MPD26!
Especially tom fills, snare rolls and intricate hi-hat work.
I vote for the DM10, great value for the money!
The only mod that I did was get a 12" pad and snare stand for my snare.