Hard to say cause you usually end up sticking with the one you originally started with. I've got Cubase & spent the better part of 2 months learning how to use it properly & then probably another year to feel comfortable enough to make a recording that didn't sound 'homemade'.
Everybody else I know uses ProTools & it's a royal pain not being able to swap files and stuff, but there's no way I'm gonna re-learn it now. If I was starting out right now though, I would probably go with ProTools cause it's the standard in most studios.
I don't think I agree with ya about midi though. A well done midi file is hard work, especially if it's meant to be played back on different types of software. If you want to program drums using samples from your HD, it's pretty much essential too. I usually end up spending over a week on just the drum tracks, then have to go back after the song's finished to tweak em again. Just finding the right cymbals can take all day when there's a hundred .wav files to choose from.
There's other stuff to consider too like whether you're going to want to use VST instruments etc...
Some of the newest software isn't backwards compatible with earlier plug-ins...one of the major reasons why I haven't upgraded past Cubase 5.1 is it renders all my older VST instruments useless.
You also have to be careful about mistaking RAM for CPU power. I've got plenty of RAM which means that in theory, I can get about 5 plug-ins going at once...but the CPU on my G3 Mac is too slow to keep up, so the sound constantly cuts out unless you print the effects to tape. Anyways...blah blah... it's probably gonna take ya like a year for you to figure out what the heck I'm talking about :)