I know this is an odd topic title and hopefully I will be clear enough to not cause confusion. I made a post similar to this regarding freebies and got a lot of good suggestions  Over the past couple of years, lots of great "deals" have been posted. Honestly, although I have jumped on some of these sales, I don't use most of them.  As I find myself cleaning up my computer, i decided to share some of the hits and misses from the last year:
 
Hits:
 
Geist for $49
Solved most of my drum sequencing and sampling issues all in one shot at a no-brainer price. Even came with an extra expansion pack.  I can cretae entire EDM  or hip-hop songs in Geist.  Even the effects are highly useful, including Breverb modules not included in the version that comes with Sonar.
 
Spark Dubstep for 99 cents
Surprisingly the Spark Dubstep for 99 cents was better than i thought.  Not crazy about interface and have not even attempted to make a dubstep song with it, but the sounds work well in other genres and and the kits fit well together.  I find myself inserting it in places i used to use Session Drummer 3 for (mostly electronic 808 kick, snare, clap sounds) and a few of the non-drum sounds just fit.
 
Mongoose by Bozdigital Labs forgot the sale price but it was ridiculously low
 
IMHO a better version of Waves Max Bass without the WUP.  Simple but useful
 
SoundIron ironpacks $2-$4
 
Although they really make you long to own Kontakt and get the full version of their fuller offerings, the small samples are useful, even in SFZ format.
 
Udemy Sale various prices
I included this because it was posted here and music courses are part of their offerings.  Although one class I took ended up being so-so, one class i got for $19 has been awesome if only for the facct it included a year of free web hosting that totally negates the cost of the course. Thanks Larry
 
 
Misses (but still holding out hope for them)
 
Harrison Mixbus $19
 
It is probably not quite fair to lump this as a miss, because it is a good product.  Just could never figure a justification to constantly jump between DAWs to get a couple extra features.  Perhaps if the next version includes more of Ardours feature set minus the ugly Linux GUII may give this another look.  For now, it is just taking up space.
 
AAS String Studio 2 upgrade price (forgot exact figure but was too low to pass)
 
Another one I cannot find anything bad to say about but hardly use it.  Like it's predecessor, it seems to be a product waiting for expert sound designers to truly unveil it's usefulness.
 
Hitfilm Xpress free (usually $149)
I know, not a music product directly, but many here make videos and I posted it about a year ago. This may have been ore useful to someone who did not own other products, but i found it useless. Too many limitations on file types killed it for me.  The fact that shortly after, Black Magic began offering a powerful free alternative that had limitations but better support.
 
 
 

Spark Dubstep was a great deal for 99 cents. I haven't used it yet, but it has real potential.
 
Mongoose is a great plugin. I got it free. They came out with a free version then gave free upgrades to the people who had it.
 
I've just started using Mixbus after getting it for $19. I love it. Sounds great, and I love the work flow. The Eqs and comps are simple, but sound terrific, It has tape sims, a VU K-meter...I plan on mixing my next project with it.

AAS String Studio 2 is remarkable. For me this is a great example of how modeling software can bring new things, new instruments, new music. And not just emulate or mimick existing hardware.

Dub, Hitfilm may not have dome much for you, but I have gotten some mileage from it, so thanks for that.
I had previously been using an older version of Pinnacle, but it is trapped in a dead XP machine.
I have actually been turned on to three video related programs via this forum, Hitfilm Express, Fusion(Black Magic), and Messiah Studio.
For me, these have been real eye openers, and I'm glad you guys have mentioned them here.

RobertB
Dub, Hitfilm may not have dome much for you, but I have gotten some mileage from it, so thanks for that.
I had previously been using an older version of Pinnacle, but it is trapped in a dead XP machine.
I have actually been turned on to three video related programs via this forum, Hitfilm Express, Fusion(Black Magic), and Messiah Studio.
For me, these have been real eye openers, and I'm glad you guys have mentioned them here.

I'm glad i posted it then.  I am sure the program is good if used properly.  i just got highly annoyed with it early on and  never really used it.  i think that is a prime example of why i will sometimes post offers that are of no use to me. I lik,ed Pinnacle back in the day before Avid bought it.

Fleer
AAS String Studio 2 is remarkable. For me this is a great example of how modeling software can bring new things, new instruments, new music. And not just emulate or mimick existing hardware.

Whilst I agree it's remarkable, I just can't get find any joy in it. I want to love it, but theire is a darkness, a tension and dissonance to it's sound. I think for some this makes it a great synth, and their was a time when I would have done so to, but now it's seems it's not for me.
 
I took up the Christmas special offer of a free bank, and instead of choosing an ultra synth I chose a String Studio bank to see if would open my eyes to a something different. All it did was confirm I can't find a joy in sound, just a broody, angst sound.
 
When I think of strings, I think of emotions that can inspire, these can feel uplifting without being cheesy. I understand that it will never be a greeat model of real instruments, but a great model of imagined ones, I just wish it could do some more positive imagined sounds.
 
As I say, for some this could really be it's attribute, just not for me. Though I may find a place somewhere it fits, but nothing key to a tune.
 
Lounge Lizard = Love
Ultra Analogue = My central analogue
Chromophoine = Inspiring
 

Nothing to add to this post that wasn't mentioned in the OP. I picked up Geist last Christmas for $99 (no expansion pack), but still a great deal over the standard $249. It has definitely gotten high mileage from me as well with my sampling/sequencing issues. To me, it comes across as a software version of Maschine (although I do not own Maschine so cannot assert this). One feature that I use the most is its utility plugin called "Spitter," which allows it to sample another audio track... this has opened the doors to using AD, as the kit can be sculpted in AD then pulled into Geist for pad layering (one issue I had with AD was the inability to put samples into AD, so Geist solved it in the reverse manner). Geist is not limited to percussion only, and can similarly fire any audio in mix.

I have a question for you guys...I did download Hitfilm Express when dubdisciple posted it earlier this year, but I got it mainly for my Daughter. She is a theater and drama major, but she really wants to get into making films. I'll be buying her a camera pretty soon. Do you have any suggestions along the Hitfilm lines for her. She has a I3 PC with Win 8. I know Vegas is popular.
I'm not trying to derail the thread...You can PM me if you have suggestions.

For me, most "no-brainer" purchases have ultimately fallen into the Miss category. When a product goes on sale for $10 that normally lists for $199, there's usually a reason: nobody was buying it at the regular price. And nobody was buying it because the product wasn't strong enough to justify the asking price. 
 
Waves' Super Tap delay was a case in point. I got it for a ridiculous price like ten bucks or something. Used it once and didn't even bother moving it over to the new DAW. Ditto for Renaissance Bass and Doubler.
 
AAS String Studio was another flop. I tried and tried, but never managed to get anything close to a "wow" sound out of it.
 
I had to think for a bit before I could come up with an anything that I'd gotten cheap and I actually use. I could only think of one example: D16 Group's Silverline effects, which were bought in a group buy. IIRC it was fifty bucks for all six plugins, four of which get regular use.

clintmartin
I know Vegas is popular.

Vegas is very popular since it is capable and most like the DAW format we are familiar with. I do not own Vegas but that response is common, so has an easier learning curve.

Because I already had Adobe CS5.5, I headed down the path of learning Premiere Pro, and that environment is very foreign at first and has strange quirks that will frustrate a new user. Simple project creation requires exiting the initial dialog to save grief and exports alone require learning. The camera drivers are something also to consider, as some raw inputs are not supported (not sure with Vegas, but this is something to know before buying a camera).

As far as "most painless" start, Windows Movie Maker actually is okay. It does imports/exports more simply, and although limited in functions will actually create an end product you can share quickly.

Definitely research these first. The camera issue is not with recording within the camera itself (and transferring that video file), but rather connecting a camera to a computer to record the file in the machine. If it hadn't been for Dub, that stupid new project dialog alone would have shut me down for good with PP (he is a great resource, Markyzno is another).