cparmerlee
I have Sonar X2 producer.  I have not (yet) bought any additional VSTs.  (I already had Garritan Jazz & Big Band, but I am really just talking about effects VSTs for mixing and mastering.)
 
I have been building a list of all the VSTs that people mention here that sound like they could fit what I do.  My problem now is that list his about $4000 long. 
 
I'm just curious how many effects VSTs people generally buy.  Is there any "average" number?  I assume those who are lightweight or hobby users buy fewer effects than people trying to produce commercial products.
 
I'm just looking for a ballpark estimate.

I probably have 50 or so but I only use a handful all the time.  Those are:
 
Ozone
KMeter
Pantheon Reverb
Breverb
Compression
EQ
Prochannel
I've got a Waves and UAudio bundles that I'll be using more soon as well because of JBridge.
 
For instruments:
Session Drummer 3
Dimension
Rapture
Stylus RMX
Ivory
Cakewalk Piano
 
plus a few more, so I don't have or use a ton of different ones.

yorolpal is compiling his list, but it might take a few days. Problem is that by the time he completes the list it'll be out of date.

When I first started with digital recording, I thought it was cool to have allot of plugins and I also thought it was a good idea, so I got hundreds of them, like 400 plus.
 
Then after awhile and from past experiences I realized that its not a good idea to have so many plugins. Right now I have about 2 to 3 of everything. like Limiters, Compressors, EQ, Reverbs, Chorus, flangers, delays, Pitch shifters and so on. Out of these,. there are my go to plugins that I use and the count for about 5 plugins. I mainly use those 5 in conjunction with some hardware.
 
More is not better in this case.
 
CJ

Ozone 5, TRacks Custom Shop, Amplitube, Sampletank 2.5, and Melodyne Editor. Coupla BlueCat and Voxengo freebies. There's a MIDI guitar interface I'm hearing good things about, and a free analyzer of apparantly prodigious proportions put out by the British dot gov, on my short maybe list. Fair amount of anlog hardware. I may look into more when the business supports and requires them. I'm havin all kinda fun now.

Jay Tee 4303
IBM PC/XT
1 MB RAM
8087 Math Co-Processor
5 Megabyte Seagate Hard Drive
Twelvetone Cakewalk Version 2.0

That's a nice rig you've got, man.  I bet those VSTs really hum with that math co-processor.  :)
 
What size monochrome CRT do you use with that?

CJaysMusic
When I first started with digital recording, I thought it was cool to have allot of plugins and I also thought it was a good idea, so I got hundreds of them, like 400 plus.
 
Then after awhile and from past experiences I realized that its not a good idea to have so many plugins. Right now I have about 2 to 3 of everything. like Limiters, Compressors, EQ, Reverbs, Chorus, flangers, delays, Pitch shifters and so on. Out of these,. there are my go to plugins that I use and the count for about 5 plugins. I mainly use those 5 in conjunction with some hardware.
 
More is not better in this case.
 
CJ

I've been coming to that conclusion CJ.  Although following Scott's advice and making your own customized plug in menus and organizing them how you like helps out quite a bit.

When I moved to 64 bits I decided to go with only 64 bit plugins if at all possible. I found that the vast majority I had were not being used anyway. What I look for in a new plugin is its uniqueness and figure out if I have a need for it. I do rely on just a very few but I have a nice representative number that I think is close to complete. A killer one may pop up that is a must have but I doubt it.
 
I also think its a very good practice to learn how to best use a plugin more then it is to have a huge number of them. This philosophy has saved a lot of money. It also has not harmed any sonic ability.   

I agree with the philosophy that is better to learn how to use a plug intelligently or creatively than to have a library the size of the Library of Congress. Another way of expressing this would be to turn the thread title around to how many effects VSTs do you use? In my case while I have a large library the ones I use are relatively small.
 
Part of the problem is the embarrassment of riches we suffer from...if I were to purchase NI Komplete Ultimate I get a bundle of VSTs I may not need or ever use just so I can have the ones I really want (in the want/must have category were the RC24 and 48 reverbs). The cost comparison to the hardware versions of those reverb units makes the bundle purchase a no brainer for me and yet many of the other products I will not learn to use.
 
So, again, I think the question should be phrased a bit differently such as which are your 'desert island' plugs (assuming it has electricity ).
 
Besides I have made the commitment to no more purchases until I become expert at using Reaktor...
 
Regards,

Drat!!!!
 
I have to add Harrison MixBuss to the list.

699 Vst effects[very embarrassed]I know how to use a hand full....the rest are a complete handfull!
36 Direct X audio effects[all the cakewalk ones]
50 Vst Instruments,which is ridiculous,since I really only use the drums,and an occaisional Bass guitar-time to broaden my musical horizons maybe?
6 Direct X Instruments
 
Having said this,I'm having a realisation that the Pro Channel PC76 U-Type Channel Comp is very good! after all.
Regards to all
Bob